


In The Shadows We Run

by PallasCat



Category: Deus Ex (Video Games), Deus Ex: Black Light - James Swallow, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Shadowrun
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coma, Dwarves, Elves, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, M/M, Orcs, Pookas, Slow Burn, Trolls, more tags to come, much to my own dismay, shadowrun freeform, this story takes place instead of Black Light
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 15:08:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 47,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17003976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PallasCat/pseuds/PallasCat
Summary: It's been a year since the Incident. Pritchard's life has fallen apart. He's lost his job at Sarif Industries and had to go back to his old life in the shadows. Now working with some old friends and Malik he tries to survive in a world that has turned hostile to augs.





	1. Prologue

_> >>>>[The nanites, man ! The nanites !]<<<<< _

_-The Oracle_

_> >>>>[?????]<<<<< _

_-Nucl3arSnake_

_> >>>>[The nanites ! They get into your head and twist your brain ! They will spread them upon us ! They will take the Kings and everything will fall !]<<<<< _

_-The Oracle_

_> >>>>[You need to stop taking that much Psyche, Oracle. Whatever is left of your brain will thank you.]<<<<< _

_-Nucl3arSnake_

_> >>>>[Nooooo ! You don't understand ! Don't you see the Signs ? Don't you hear the Call ? It's upon us !]<<<<< _

_-The Oracle_

_> >>>>[I think you're too high to be coherent again.]<<<<< _

_-Nucl3arSnake_

_> >>>>[The nanites ! The nanites in your brain !]<<<<< _

_-The Oracle_

 

* * *

 

Pritchard rolled in his bed, letting out a low groan when his muscles ached and pulled. Especially his back and legs. The last run had been a real fucking mess, the longer it went the more he missed working with Jensen, tucked comfortably behind his desk. He pushed himself up, only half-surprised to notice he went to bed fully clothed. He could see his cyberdeck and boots laying haphazardly on the floor near the unclosed door. Apparently he still had found enough energy to shake those off before dropping on his mattress. Thank fuck. 

   
 

He heaved himself up on his feet and dragged his lifeless body past the door. The sun seemed already high up in the sky, shedding it’s golden light through cracks of the boarded up windows in the abandoned Sarif building. Back then Sarif had decided to expand his business and started the construction of a new office at the edge of Detroit. Now it seemed so laughable. The Incident had wiped off Sarif Industries in one swift motion, along with Pritchard’s hopes and dreams.  

   
 

The decker sighed loudly. No point in rehashing the past. He had a new life to build. Or, more exactly, to return to. 

   
 

The made-up cafeteria was already filled with clatter and chitchat. He should have expected the others to be already up, after all they were more experienced Shadowrunners than he was. He could already smell the scent of Domitius’ cooking filling their little hideout. Voiceless’ steady voice rang, answered by Dusty’s giggle echoing through the kitchen, then mirrored by Malik’s own. The pilot had been his last reminder of his past life with Sarif. After their place of work closed its doors he had introduced her to the group, knowing they would definitely find a use for a good pilot. And after a few month trying to go back into his comfortable, corporate life he had given up on being even half of what he was with Sarif and had contacted Voiceless himself. 

   
 

The elf was perched on a stool, sipping a glass of juice while waiting for Domitius’ meals. She had a slender yet athletic body, an elegant augmented white arm that Pritchard had instantly recognised as Sarif’s tech when he saw it, the right side of her head was shaved, giving a good look of her three golden cranial augmentations and her cyber eye. The left side was covered with her long, wavy brown hair falling on her shoulders. Visibly she had not bothered tying it up like she usually did, which meant she hadn’t been up for very long. Upon hearing him enter she turned her face towards him and set her small hooded eyes on him. 

 

“Already up, Snake ? I thought you’d be gone for at least another two hours.” 

   
 

“Yeah, well maybe I should have stayed in bed.” grumbled Pritchard as he made his way towards his chair. In front of him Dusty grinned widely. 

   
 

“Yesterday sure was tough on you, child ! You couldn’t avoid crawling in the vents this time ! Not with all the guards patrolling around !” chirped the pooka, their long, black lion tail swooshing behind them, Dusty was certainly the stranger of the lot. They appeared with Domitius one day, claiming to be his sibling but the two of them didn’t look even slightly like each other. At first Frank hadn’t believed them when they declared being a pooka, thinking they were probably some sort of changeling, but the truth became undeniable as time went by. The horns and the tail should have been a dead giveaway but with cosmetic enhancement it was difficult to say if those were real or not. Then there was the unsettling blood red eyes, that dark grey-ish skin, and the strange occurrences that happened around the pooka. Now Pritchard was certain that they were not lying about their specie, no matter how odd that was. 

   
 

“If Jensen was here I’m sure we wouldn’t hear the end of it.” chuckled Malik next to him, giving him a playful shove of her elbow. 

   
 

Frank felt his shoulders drop as she said that, and maybe his heart sink a little. “Yeah… I’m sure he would be glad to tease me with it.” he mumbled to himself as he set his eyes down on the empty table. 

   
 

“Awh, sorry, Frank. I know you two were friends but you have to let it go. It’s been a year now. He wouldn’t want you to keep suffering like that because of him.” said the pilot in a comforting tone as she rubbed his back with the palm of her hand. He could have pushed her away, sniping a snarky remark on his way but he held back. Thinking about his idiot ex-coworker had sapped his energy. He knew she was right. It was becoming ridiculous. He still had the boxes from Jensen’s office he had stolen from Sarif Industries, was monitoring Jensen’s frequency, sometimes when he felt blue and couldn’t sleep he would even try to contact him for a few minutes in the hopes to hear his raspy voice once again. 

   
 

 _What do you want this time,_ Francis _?_  

   
 

But the ex-cop would never pick up. How could he ? His body still floating around, frozen in the deep waters surrounding Panchea. If at least the recovery team had found his body, but no. He would probably spend the rest of his life wondering ‘what if’ unless his corpse miraculously reappeared. Mangled, bloated, and unrecognisable if not for the impeccable black augmentations inside his body that would probably survive his time underwater. What would he give to see those stupid sunglasses the man even wore indoors…  

   
 

He was brutally sent back on Earth when Domitius slid a plate filled with a delicious looking omelet under his nose. “Eat. It will do you some good.” said the giant man with a surprisingly gentle voice for his bulky appearance and pale scars barring his black skin and face. At first Pritchard had thought Domitius was half-way through goblinisation to become a troll but apparently the man had always been this ridiculously tall. Even Jensen would feel self-conscious next to him. A mountain of dark muscles with golden eyes piercing through anyone’s skin. Yet the man was, despite his violent past and his current occupation, one of the most gentle people Frank knew. He could even deal with the decker’s most aggressive moods without even as much as bulging. Still it was good to have him watching your back on the field. If he wasn’t very stealthy but he sure was a war-machine once he was set in front of an enemy. Despite his missing leg he had refused to get an aug, instead walking with a metallic prosthesis strapped to his thigh. He and Jensen sure would have gotten along. Maybe. 

   
 

“Yeah, thanks.” replied Pritchard as he settled in front of his plate. Domitius went around, feeding everyone before getting himself a share, sitting next to Dusty. The food was amazing as usual. No mistake when it came to Domitius’ cooking, he could almost feel his aching muscles soothe instantly as he wolfed down his meal.  

   
 

“By the way, Snake,” started Voiceless, turning over on her stool to face his back. “We received our payment for the run about three hours ago. I already sent your share on your account. We also have received a new mission. Same client. Apparently that run was only to get the intel he needed for the second one and he was rather pleased with our services.” 

   
 

“Already ?! Can’t we even catch a break ?!” strangled the decker as he almost choked on his food. 

   
 

“No rest for the wicked. And if we get this done quickly he promised us a juicy bonus. We could use the money. With no fixer we can’t tell when the next job will be.” noted the elf taking another sip of her juice. 

   
 

“I’m in ! The bird is all set too !” chirped Malik giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. 

   
 

“Easy for you to say ! You’re just flying the VTOL while we’re down there trying not to get shot !” protested Pritchard, not commenting on Malik repeatedly intruding in his personal space. 

   
 

“Hey, watch it ! While you’re down here I have to fly undetected for hours then fly off before they can take shots at you ! That demands a lot of skill and cool !” retorted the pilot with a falsely offended attitude. 

   
 

“We have about a few days to set up and gather the intel we need. I’ll be meeting the client tomorrow morning for the details. That should be plenty enough for you to recover from yesterday’s run.” 

   
 

Pritchard grumbled as he rose to help himself with some left-overs in the fridge. Voiceless was more or less the leader of their group and even if her… social skills were far from the best she knew where to find contracts to keep their team afloat. Lately they have been pretty quiet and the lack of runs had been taking its toll on the group so they definitely needed the work. “What do we even know about this run ? Or shall we wait for 24 hours like idiots until we can actually start looking for some intel ?” 

   
 

“It’s in Alaska. A rescue mission from one of those ‘recovery facility’. As for the rest, I have no idea.” 

   
 

 


	2. Chapter 1 : Cold Slumber

_> >>>>[Anyone knows what 'nanites' are ? I was having a bad trip and I wrote this word every-fucking- where. I know I didn't invent it so where does it comes from ?]<<<<< _

_-The Oracle_

_> >>>>[So you were high.]<<<<< _

_-Nucl3arSnake_

_> >>>>[Duh. No shit, Sherlock. Of course I was high. Fuck, I really need to get clean.]<<<< _

_-The Oracle_

_> >>>>[Ok more seriously. What are 'nanites'. When I'm tripping I only rave about stuff I heard on the Dark Web.]<<<<< _

_-The Oracle_

_> >>>>[No fucking idea. You called them 'filthy little robots doing something to our heads' otherwise I don't have a clue. You must have found some conspiracy theory bullshit again. Seriously lock your computer before getting your fix.]<<<<< _

_-Nucl3arSnake_

 

* * *

 

Pritchard went again through the intel he had collected the past day. Facility 451. A ‘rehabilitation center’. Or as Pritchard, and probably many more people, had lovingly called them ‘Aug Prison Camps’. This one wasn’t that much different. A bunch of stacked prefabricated modules, surrounded by barbed wire in the middle of Alaska. The masking field would be the trickiest part. Unless they disabled it, which would probably tip whomever was in charge that they were inside, they wouldn’t be able to contact Malik to extract them. But given that this was a rescue mission and that their target wouldn't be able to move timing would be crucial.  

   
 

They had discussed their plan over and over already, scrapping whatever information they could scramble from their meagre and too fast research. Their target was apparently kept in a stasis pod along with some other comatose ‘patients’. They would have to infiltrate the base, as stealthily as possible, find the aisle she was in, take her out with the pod to make sure they didn’t endanger her safety by waking her up brutally, eventually take down the masking field to warn Malik or take a transport to escape from the facility’s range, then evacuate and pocket the reward. 

   
 

Of course it would not be a stroll in the park. The team was far from being very physically strong, besides Domitius that is but would he be capable of lifting a stasis pod plus the metahuman inside all by himself ? It was more than doubtful. So they had to find a way to move the pod around inside then outside the facility and with this bloody masking field it was nearly impossible to know what kind of material they had inside, they had managed to find some receipts for a part of the material the facility had bought, which seemed to indicate that they owned forklifts but who said they hadn’t gotten rid of it once the pods had been loaded or that they would even be able to use them to leave ? The rest of the data they had mostly concerned the everyday supplies they had, food, neuropozyne, medical material, etc. The client had given them two portable batteries to keep the pod active during the trip back to Detroit. The second in case the other one ran out before they had reached the delivery point. Pritchard wasn’t actually delighted to go this far away for a job but they didn’t really have a choice, did they ? 

   
 

They did manage to find a proper map of the place. But no idea of how the rooms were attributed and where the pods could be based on the power consumption of the Facility. Same for the amount of guards inside, or how many residents had been taken in, or even the number of pods waiting for them to check. On top of that Malik couldn’t set them down in the Facility either since they would be spotted instantly so she would have to drop them nearby and let them make their way there on foot before infiltrating the place. He leant back in his chair with a long sigh. Beside Domitius they were all augmented one way or another and Pritchard didn’t really want to be taken as a ‘patient’ there. But he knew his team well enough to know they would find a way to escape even if they had to fail the mission but the possibility wasn’t pleasant. 

   
 

Voiceless came knocking on his door. “You ready, Snake ?” her voice muffled on the other side of the wall. 

   
 

Frank heaved himself up and turned off his computer, making a last check of his supplies. Biocells, check. Cyberdeck, check. Stun gun, check. Body armour, check and in place. Winter clothing, check as well. He had his last shot of Neuropozine less than an hour ago. He was all set to go. The decker stepped out, dodging Voiceless on his way out. The elf promptly followed him, not minding the fact he hadn’t bothered with a reply. She was weighted with both her cyberdeck and sniper rifle, Pritchard kept thinking she would be better suited with just a one-handed weapon but Voiceless insisted that she was a better shot with rifles. They made their way through the hallways to reach the helipad where the rest of the team was already waiting, Dusty was loaded with their gear, Domitius wrapped in black armour his golden eyes only stood out from his dark silhouette, and Malik leaning against the side of her VTOL. She had long given up on her Sarif Industries suit and traded it for a dark, reinforced one more suited for a shadowrunner. Upon seeing the two deckers she grinned and hopped into her cockpit. 

   
 

Here it goes. 

   
 

They all engulfed in the VTOL and buckled up swiftly. It had become a habit at this point and Pritchard found himself wondering if Jensen had felt the same when Sarif was sending him away to god knows where for his missions. Malik’s voice crackled through the speakers as they took off, warning them about potential turbulences on the way to Alaska and gave them the estimated time of arrival. They were set to land in the evening and had some time to kill before landing. Frank wasn’t really in the mood to chat with the rest of the crew. The night before he had, once again, tried to reach Jensen and of course got no answer, which, unsurprisingly, had set his morale down. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started fiddling with it mindlessly. Voiceless shuffled in her seat and took a power nap on the spot while Dusty and Domitius (mostly Dusty) babbled together. 

   
 

Everyone, including himself, looked bulkier with their winter gear. Ready for the Alaska weather. Pritchard already hated it. He wasn’t the type to go trudge in the dirt and snow, he was the type who stayed cosy behind a desk and get his work done at a safe distance but he didn’t have Sarif’s resources any longer, and most of their contracts now required them to infiltrate the targets’ lairs to get access to their networks. Never thought he would miss his previous boss so much. 

   
 

Pritchard had lost track of time when Malik spoke up again, setting them down. The decker braced himself, pulling up his hood and hiding his face behind a scarf. But it wasn’t enough. As soon as their pilot opened the door the wind roared in, biting every exposed inch of skin, slipping under their thick layers of clothing, prickling thin needles of ice inside their flesh. Frank cursed loudly, hugging his sides to shelter himself from the cruel assault until Voiceless gave him a small nudge to get him moving. 

   
 

He thought he had a pretty good idea of the cold outside from the freezing gust and found himself clearly mistaken. The sea of white in front of him was blinding and as soon as he stepped a foot outside the snow pulled him downwards until he was inside up to the knees. He let out a ridiculous yap as he sank in and felt the vicious hands of cold get a hold of his leg. He winced, feeling like the wind was clawing at the exposed part of his face and the snow was biting off his legs. He forced himself forward. The rest of the group joined him and started trekking toward their destination. Dusty whined about wanting to turn into a crow and fly ahead but Voiceless shushed them, they couldn’t afford to get separated in a snow storm with the masking field ahead. Domitius quickly took the head of the group, allowing the rest of them to walk in his tracks mostly unbothered by the snow. Pritchard could still feel the dampness of his pants clinging to his skin and regretted not taking knee high boots like Voiceless did or having one less leg suffering from the exposure to the thick snow. At least he wasn’t alone in his misery, Dusty also complained about the cold and despite how quiet Domitius was, the giant was clearly struggling to keep up the pace he had first set. 

   
 

Pritchard’s eyes scanned the landscape, looking for any sign of the Facility in the dim lighting. With the storm raging on outside and the sun slowly setting he doubted they would meet much people outside, even the guards would avoid standing in the cold for too long. This could simplify their task… or complicate it. Less guards outside meant more guards inside. Soon a dark shape started drawing itself through the snow as they grew closer and Pritchard held his breath. From there it didn’t take long for them to hear the crackle of his infolink as he entered the masking field. He gritted his teeth. It wasn’t his first tough mission, he wasn’t going to back away now. Not like he could anyway. 

   
 

Domitius did his best to speed up and open up the path leading to Facility 451. Before they had even reached the fences surrounding the place Dusty had already pulled out their pincers, ready to snip open a path for them, and hopped ahead of them to get on with it as fast as possible. They were halfway through it when the rest of the crew reached them. Domitius pushed the half cut wire rack and shoved his massive stature through the opening, wanting nothing more than to escape from the cruel weather. Voiceless imitated him and Pritchard followed suit, grumbling when his hood got caught in the sharp wiring. Dusty gave up on making a full opening and sneaked inside after them. 

   
 

Voiceless followed the walls until she found a window they could go through. A quick glance inside revealed no guards so she forced the weak lock with her bowie knife and slid it open. No alarms ringing, not a sound but the growl of the wind outside as they all carefully made their way inside. Their legs felt significantly heavier from the numbness and water infiltrating through their clothing. Malik was never allowed to complain about not going on the field any more, that was certain. 

   
 

Voiceless checked the map through her augmented eye and pointed at a nearby door quietly. The lot of them started walking as quietly as they could with their barely responding legs. Voiceless checked through the door for any heat signatures with her thermal vision before opening it. A single guard behind a security computer, back turned at them. The elf waved at Domitius and the giant made his way silently toward the guard. Pritchard tensed as his teammate swiftly slid his arms around the guard’s neck, shutting his windpipe down and pulling him off the chair into the choking hold. 

   
 

The man struggled like a dislocated puppet against the powerful arms crushing him until his eyes rolled back and he fell limp in Domitius’ embrace. The giant set him down gently and gave Voiceless the all clear. The elf sneaked in the room and quickly connected herself to the computer, connecting herself to the camera feed and downloading the noted version of the map. Pritchard came closer and took a sneak peek at the feed. Most of the residents seemed to be hauled up in some sort of cafeteria, wardens keeping a close eye on them with their palms resting on the stun guns strapped to their hips. The decker felt a surge of anger rumbling at the bottom of his stomach. People here were treated like dangerous animals and he despised that. If he could he would set them all free but today they came only for one person. Lucky winner of the lottery. 

   
 

Voiceless went through the computer files to find an indication of how to reach the pods but Pritchard could see in her face she hadn’t found the intel she was hoping for. She returned to the main screen and helped Domitius put the unconscious guard on his seat to make it look like he had simply taken a nap in case someone took a sneak peek in his direction. 

   
 

The design of the Facility made it hard to navigate stealthily and even though most the guards seemed to be busy watching the residents in the cafeteria avoiding the ones still patrolling the hallways proved to be awfully tense especially for Domitius who couldn't hide himself in small spaces like vents and often had to rush into adjacent rooms or shove himself inside a maintenance closet and hope for the best. Good thing the giant was exceptionally alert and could tell whenever someone was coming their way before any of them could. Soon Voiceless made them all stop and hide into an empty room which seemed to be a doctor’s office. A blank white room, a file cabinet in the far left corner, no diploma nailed to the wall (not like doctors here really needed a diploma), no memorabilia or pictures on the desk, just a computer, a few files, and a single pen. Completely devoid of warmth and empathy. 

   
 

“Alright. Snake, you go hack this computer, there should be a node here I can connect to to find a way to the pods’ aisle. Look for the records of ‘Patricia Lancet’, download it, and find her pod number. If we have that info it should be faster to find her and the client could give us a bonus for finding her medical records. Dusty and Wolf you watch over us, make sure no one comes nearby while we’re connected.” said the elf as she ran her gloved hand along the wall to find where she could connect herself to the Matrix. 

   
 

Pritchard nodded and went to sit behind the desk. He didn’t need to jack into the computer to get through its firewalls, the security here seemed to be pretty light compared to what he had expected, they probably didn’t expected anyone to come gunning for them in the middle of Alaska. His fingers started dancing on the keyboard as he started to work on the password. Whomever Doctor MacFadden was he certainly didn’t seem very creative when it came to cyber security and the decker didn’t spend too long before the screen beeped to life and gave him access to his files. He craved to know what exactly this man was doing here but he didn’t have much time to satiate his curiosity and wanted to be gone from this place as soon as possible. 

   
 

He scrolled through some folders, looking for the information he needed on the pods residents, gritting his teeth when he understood that those people had been recovered from Panchea and kept in a coma. Lots of John and Jane Doe too. How many of those poor bastards had families worrying about them that would never hear about their lost ones anymore ? He wished he could put names on the faces to bring them some relief but he had nothing that could help him do that. He finally found Patricia, pod 904. The record mentioned that her augs kept her from freezing to death but she sustained major brain damage due to the lack of oxygen. Most of these people probably did. Didn’t matter. He had found what he came for and had nothing more to do here. He downloaded the file and locked the computer. 

   
 

He rose from his chair and took a glance at Voiceless, the elf was crouching in a corner of the office, jacked into an alarm panel, her eyes twitching eratically while she roamed the matrix. Dusty and Domitius were camping by the door, their ears pressed against it to hear any sound coming from the hallway that could warn them about the presence of enemies. The pooka noticed Frank was standing up and waved at him. 

   
 

“Found anything, child ?” they whispered as they pointed their finger at the computer. 

   
 

“Yeah. The target is in pod 904. We just have to pick her up and go,” answered the decker coming closer to the duo. “Anyone outside ?” 

   
 

“We heard some guards passing by. But they just marched down the hallway and left. I don’t think they know we are here yet.” 

   
 

“It’s only a matter of time before they find the guy we knocked out earlier.” noted Pritchard. 

   
 

A familiar buzz rang behind him as Voiceless jacked out the alarm panel, strapping her cyberdeck to her back. Whenever she went into the matrix her senses seemed to heightened. Like floating in the cyber space was so natural to her it was boosting her actual physical abilities. She focused on the rest of her crew, her augmented eye glowing in its socket. “The doors on the way there are unlocked, but from what I’ve seen through the camera feed there’s too many guards for the lot of us to go past them together. I suggest we split up, two of us will make our way through the vents and whomever stays with Wolf will have to find another way in.” 

   
 

“I’ll go with Snake,” said the giant before Pritchard could even open his mouth. “He doesn’t like to crawl through the vents.” 

   
 

“Fair point, I’ll go with Voiceless then.” chirped Dusty lightly. 

   
 

“Wait ! I didn’t say I agree !” protested the decker keeping his voice as low as he could despite how upset he felt. 

   
 

“So you want to take the vents team ?” asked Voiceless with a raised eyebrow and a characteristically pointed tone. 

   
 

“...no.” 

   
 

“Then we’re all set. Good luck, boys. See you in the pod aisle.” 

   
 

On these words Voiceless and Dusty sneaked outside the office, leaving the two of them alone to decide for their plan. 

   
 

“Sorry. I should have consulted you before speaking up.” mumbled Domitius when Pritchard let out a long, exasperated groan. 

   
 

“It’s fine. I didn’t want to go with them anyway. Now, do you have any plan on how to get around the guards ?” 

   
 

Domitius narrowed his eyes, taking his time to think it through. “You think we could steal some of those uniforms ?” wondered the taller man scratching his beard thoughtfully. 

   
 

“We probably can, but these people probably have been all together for a while. If it could fool the intellicams I don’t think we’ll be able to fool them.” countered the decker. They couldn’t try to pass as doctors either for the same reason and the fact Domitius didn’t look the part, residents wouldn’t have access to the pod aisle no doubt… “We need a distraction.” 

   
 

“Distraction is Dusty’s thing.” noted the giant with a sigh. He wasn’t wrong, an explosive expert sure knew how to attract guards. But they had to play it safe, an explosion would definitely tell the guards there were intruders and they didn’t need that. 

   
 

“Maybe not a Dusty-type of distraction. Maybe an alarm going off unprompted, or if I made something overload that would be enough.” 

   
 

“Alright, let’s do this.”  

   
 

Pritchard hummed, turning his eyes towards the alarm panel Voiceless had been jacked to not even a few minutes ago, this time it was his turn to see what he could find in the Matrix. He slid his cyberdeck off his back and sat in front of the alarm panel, Domitius automatically took his place in front of the door, listening in for potential guards while his teammate was leaving the meat space. Then the decker jacked himself inside the Matrix. 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

Pritchard emerged in the familiar glow of the cyber space. His avatar took a few steps inside the security system as he finished loading. He had a few paths he could explore, it seemed they didn’t really secure the place. Maybe the patients here had something to shut down their augments which would explain why they wouldn’t bother securing their system. Quite the oversight, but Pritchard wasn’t going to complain. 

   
 

It seemed like Voiceless had already cleaned most of the security programs, allowing him to navigate through the grid easily. He bypassed a few firewalls to look at something that could be of use to him. He found access to the power supply of the medical wing, he didn’t want to endanger anyone, and this wouldn’t make the guards securing the stasis pods bulge from their spot. Then he went through the alarms connected to the cafeteria, not really useful either. This would just make the guards there go rabid but the ones he needed to move would not necessarily get involved. Then he found gold in the form of a gas leak alarm. 

   
 

This would force the guards to evacuate if they didn’t want to risk being intoxicated. Him and Domitius would have a small window to sneak inside the pod aisle before whomever was responsible went to check on the potential leak. With luck they would attribute it to a bug or bad wiring and not dig too deep but maybe by then they would already be long gone. If he could he would have taken a deep breath before hitting the switch but it’s not like he could in the matrix. He activated the alarm and jacked out immediately. 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

He emerged from his slumber having his shoulder shaken vigorously by Domitius. As if this would have worked, a bullet couldn’t pull a decker out of the matrix after all. 

   
 

“Wake up,” growled the giant. “There’s an alarm-” 

   
 

“I know ! I’m the one who triggered it !” hissed the decker batting the large hand away, Domitius looked very sorry and he felt a pang of guilt for yelling at him. “Listen, I did it on purpose to distract them. They think there’s a gas leak somewhere, we’ll wait for them to evacuate then we rush inside, got it ?” 

   
 

The giant man nodded slowly and went to sit by the door with the decker to listen at footsteps to make sure the last remaining guards had deserted the area. With the sound blaring from the sirens it was awfully complicated for Frank to make out the tap of feet but it didn’t seem to bother his teammate who promptly opened the door once he was satisfied. The large man took a look outside before nodding to Pritchard, allowing the two of them to sneak outside. If the decker was the one leading the way Domitius was staying awfully close to him, as if trying to shelter him in case someone jumped on them by surprise. But it only made the other man even more tense since the giant was invading his personal bubble and pretty much forcing him to hug the walls as he ran. 

   
 

The duo rushed through the empty hallways, the decker twitching at every jump of the alarm, fearing that his trick had been discovered too soon for them to make their way to the pod aisle in time. With the alarm furiously screeching without an end it became easy to get turned around, all the hallways looked like each others and the sound was making them dizzy. Pritchard gave up and slammed his palms to his ears, trying to shelter himself from the howl making his head spin. He hissed between his teeth as if trying to evacuate the pressure building inside his skull, the bone feeling suddenly too restrained for the brain inside, soaking up with the incessant screech. Domitius tried to comfort him through the noise but somehow it only annoyed him even more to have the giant fussing over him. Not like he could make out whatever the other man was trying to say. 

   
 

After some fumbling he found the door to the pod aisle, as Voiceless had promised it was thankfully unlocked and the two of them shoved themselves inside before slamming the doors shut, muffling the sound of the ringing sirens. 

   
 

Pritchard sighed and let himself slide down the wall, his ears still buzzing. Domitius patted his shoulder, an attempt at comfort but still ignoring the decker’s personal space while doing so. Frank decided to let it slide this time and heaved himself back on his feet, finally taking a glance at the room he was in. 

   
 

In front of him, a large hangar filled with hundreds and hundreds of stasis pods all connected to some machine keeping them powered, the long lines glowing eerily in the dark room. Pritchard let out a long breath, a puff of white steam forming in front of his mouth, the temperature in the room was considerably lower than the one in the rest of the building. All these people had been in Panchea, amongst them probably some members of Sarif’s own staff, people he had known, people who had sent him mails, people who had maybe brought him coffee, people who had greeted him in the morning, and worried about his late nights at work. 

   
 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a few hesitant steps forward, almost hypnotised by the blue glimmer. Most of the pods had a glass opening where the face should be, probably to allow whomever came to check on them to take a look and confirm their identity but after a year most of them were covered with a thick layer of frost, as if they had been forgotten and left to rot in their shiny coffins. 

   
 

“Where are Voiceless and Dusty ?” asked Domitius with a frown, pulling Pritchard out of his reverie. “They should already be there.” 

   
 

The decker was about to open his mouth when he heard banging coming from one of the vents. He jumped and turned over to see that the vent was on lock down. Frank cursed and ran to the opening, looking for a way to pry it open until Domitius came by and ripped it out off the wall with his sheer brute force. 

   
 

Dusty yapped and fell down the hole while Voiceless gasped with relief as fresh air finally reached her. Pritchard hadn’t expected the vents to lock themselves with the gas alarm and trap the two other members of his crew like this. Domitius helped the pooka up while the elf pulled herself outside, her breath noticeably short, if they didn’t make it in time the two of them could have suffocated inside because of his inconsiderate action. 

   
 

Frank looked down, the stupidity of his plan weighting on his shoulders. “I’m sorry, this is my fault. I-” 

   
 

“Don’t care,” huffed Voiceless as she ran a hand through her braided up hair. “We’ll finish the mission first then we’ll talk about this.” 

   
 

The decker nodded, shame creeping up to his cheeks. The elf didn’t pay attention to his demeanour and walked straight through the pods, looking for the one containing the target. Dusty came to pat his back, the pooka apparently unbothered by the near-asphyxiation they went through. “It’s okay, child. I’m not mad.” 

   
 

Pritchard rolled his eyes and joined Voiceless in her search, soon followed by Dusty. Domitius decided to guard the door, the alarm had stopped blaring and a heavy silence weighted on the little group. 

   
 

The pods had been arranged in some odd order, making it hard to find one specific pod without knowing its location beforehand so Pritchard found himself skimming through the pod’s occupants' descriptions hoping to find a pattern that could help him navigate. It seemed like most of them were arranged in groups depending on which tech they possessed and once the decker reached Sarif’s area he couldn’t help but let his eyes drift a little longer on the descriptions, looking for familiar names. Sometimes he had a déjà-vu feeling as his look went through some file, but he never could put a face on the name. Maybe it was better that way. It would avoid him feeling all this remorse. 

   
 

He stopped when he encountered a John Doe, apparently fitted with Sarif Industries tech, which made the decker frown. All of Sarif’s tech had a serial number, he was certain of that, he remembered having to identify victims of aug theft from the augs alone after their missing parts had been retrieved by some police officer several times while he was still working there. And he had given access to their ID list during the recovery efforts of Panchea and the investigations during the Incident to identify the victims. Why would someone without serial numbers be listed as sporting their tech ? Did he somehow scratched the numbers off ? Had someone imitated their tech well enough to be mistaken for a Sarif aug ? He was sure that if there ever was a Sarif copycat he would have heard about it. Like all the other pods this one’s window was blurred with ice but the decker couldn’t help the curiosity pulling his eyes to the pod. 

   
 

He looked around, Voiceless was going through one of the pod’s file with Dusty, maybe the one they had been looking for, and Domitius was still crouching in front of the door. He looked back at the pod, biting his lower lip. He was dying to know and he didn’t handle unanswered questions very well. He started scratching the frost on top of the pod with his gloved hands, soon he lost patience and ripped the fabric off his hands to attack the layer of ice with his nails. The cold dug inside his skin, burning the tip of his fingers but the decker didn’t care, his mind fully set on the task at hand. He could start to see blurred shapes inside the pod, a pale skin, dark hair. Pritchard kept on clawing, now speeding up his pace to finally satisfy his burning curiosity. His fingers were numb and scorching went he reached the glass and managed an opening big enough to take a peek at the person inside. 

   
 

Frank leaned closer, his eyes looming above the unconscious man. Then everything slowed down. Or sped up. He couldn't even tell. Despite being motionless against the pod it felt like he was spinning like a drunk man. His breath came in short gasps, blurring once again the sight before his febrile hands brushed the fog away once more.   
 

 

He knew this person. 

   
 

He knew him all too well. 

   
 

He had changed, face emaciated, longer hair, his finely groomed beard had grown scruffy and unruly, and his stupid shades were retracted but there was no mistake. 

   
 

Adam Jensen. 

   
 

He was here. In front of him. Trapped in this stupid box and left forgotten. 

   
 

The decker slapped his cold hand on his mouth to muffle the whimper escaping from his throat. 

   
 

After all these months this fucking asshole hadn’t died after all. 

   
 

No wonder he couldn’t have answered his desperate calls months after months. 

   
 

Unconscious, inside a masking field, isolated from everything in the middle of Alaska. 

   
 

Pritchard barely registered how badly his legs were trembling until they gave up under him and let him to fall heavily on the ground, taking in large gulps of air as if he had been drowning the moment before. His fingers were still clenching the edge of the pod, too scared to let it go, afraid it would vanish just in front of him like an ephemeral dream if they stopped touching it to keep it real. 

   
 

A hand came to grab his shoulder, sending a spark of electricity through his body. 

   
 

“Child ? What’s wrong ?” 

   
 

Dusty. Dusty would understand. 

   
 

“Jensen...” rasped the decker, surprised by how tight his throat was. “Jensen is here.” 

   
 

The pooka kept a straight face, their bright red eyes focused on him. “Your friend from Sarif Industries ? The one that was in Panchea ? Are you absolutely certain that’s him ?” 

   
 

“Y-yeah. I...” he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Calm. Calm. He had to be calm. “I’m absolutely certain.” 

   
 

Dusty nodded calmly and took a look inside the pod like he had the moment before. “It does seem to match the description you and Malik gave us. But I’m afraid we can’t do anything right now.” 

   
 

“What ?! We can’t leave him here !” 

   
 

“We came for only one person, child. We can’t afford to take in a second one, what if-” 

   
 

“Would you say the same thing if it was Domitius in there !” barked the decker, fire now boiling under his skin. He wasn’t leaving Jensen alone again ! Not after what happened in Panchea ! Not when he was close ! 

   
 

The pooka tensed, their red eyes returning to the pod on their left at the mention of their brother and Pritchard knew he had hit a weak spot, he would almost feel guilty for that but with Jensen at arm's reach... he couldn't afford playing nice. Dusty was not saying a thing or moving for a few seconds before returning their attention to him, they sighed. “You’re right. I wouldn’t. I would fight teeth and nails to make sure my brother could make it to safety.” they admitted. 

   
 

“We already have two batteries for the trip, we could… We could hook up one to each of the pods.” 

   
 

Dusty gave no answer, instead looking at their brother’s back thoughtfully. “Yes… I suppose we could. I’ll tell Voiceless about it. We will have to get ready before unplugging him, we didn’t take the batteries along and the pods themselves have about an hour or two of autonomy so we have to be ready to set off before doing anything,” they explained still not looking in his general direction. “I suggest you start looking for a way to evacuate him safely while I convince Voiceless. But be warned. We’re playing a dangerous game. We may have to lose both your friend and the target on the way back. Be ready for this possibility.” 

   
 

Pritchard nodded and the pooka rose up to their feet, returning to Voiceless, the elf still guarding the target’s pod faithfully. 

   
 

The decker took a deep breath. If only they could contact Malik. Tell her about what he had found, have her side with him. He sighed and heaved himself up, his legs trembling under his weight like he was some new-born foal. He took another glance at Adam, double-checking his identity just to make sure he wasn’t about to turn this run into a complete shitshow on a false impression. But it was him. If Adam had been homeless for the past year. He almost wished he had been wrong. But he never was, was he ? 

   
 

He had to find a way to carry the heavy pod around, there must have been a way to move them somewhere in the hangar, not like they had just been carried on foot. There was a door by the end of the hangar, which was probably the one they used to get all the pods in in the first place. The pods seemed to be spaced out enough to allow some small engine to pass between them. There must have been something here to help people move the pods around, for maintenance and such. 

   
 

The decker hesitated to leave Jensen’s side, too scared to return and find him gone, or even simply not being able to remember where he was in this sea of pods. His hand still clenched the side of the machine. He took a long breath and finally let go of the pod, taking a good look around to make sure he knew where Jensen was located before he took a few steps away. 

   
 

It felt like coming out of the water after holding your breath for too long. The hangar seemed much bigger and unfamiliar like he had just discovered it or awakened from one of those pods himself. The shock must have shook him worse than he thought if he was this confused. 

   
 

He wouldn’t find anything in the middle of the pods so he decided to walk along the walls of the hangar, looking maybe for some room where he could find something to help carrying Jensen around. He wished he could just pull him out of this pod and carry him on his back… or ask Domitius to do it. He felt incredibly dumb for not downloading all the patients files so he could get a look at Jensen’s. And now he was certain he would not be able to make his way back to the doctor’s office and snatch it. He shook his head. No point dwelling on it. It was too late, he had to focus on finding some immediate solution to drag his ex-coworker’s stupid ass out of the Facility. 

   
 

After a while hugging the walls he found a door to the left near the hangar door, double door painted yellow and locked by a keycode. As if that was going to stop a top notch decker in his tracks. Pritchard quickly started fiddling with the lock, bypassing the miserable security layer protecting it. These people should really take a lesson or two about cyber security, he didn’t even need to use his implants to find the breach in their system. The lock let out a high pitched beep and the doors unlocked with a click. 

   
 

Pritchard pushed them open and took a cautious look inside, it did look like some sort of storage but he had no light to see properly what was inside. How much he wished he had low-light vision like elves did. He ran his hand along the wall, looking for a switch. Then the lights flickered to life and the decker knew he had hit the jackpot. The room was filled with various machines and tools, from simple wrench hooked to the walls to the three skidoos parked in the center of the room. There was also a small forklift which they probably had used to move the pods around, also two hand trucks along the wall. If they could all use these they would be outside in no time and be able to reach Malik much faster than they had planned. Also it would prevent them from trudging knees deep in the snow again. 

   
 

One of the skidoos was hooked to a trailer which was filled with rotten pieces of wood, probably left forgotten like the pods themselves. The trailer itself seemed to be too small to fully fit a pod properly, it probably wasn’t meant for that but maybe they could find a way to secure the pods inside for transport. To be very fair they probably could fit only one pod but if this discovery could make the tides turn in his favour he should probably report it back to Voiceless. He walked out of the room, back to Voiceless. The elf and the pooka were still talking, the decker clearly agitated, not looking good. Pritchard took in a long breath and came closer. 

   
 

“-certain that’s him ? It could just be shock.” whispered Voiceless, biting the fabric of her glove while staring at Jensen’s pod in the distance. 

   
 

“Yes. It fits what Malik and Frank told me of him, he has the shades and the hexagon on his forehead with the Sarif trademark. I doubt there’s many of those arou-” 

   
 

“Hey...” interrupted Pritchard approaching the two.  

   
 

Voiceless tensed and relaxed quickly before turning her face toward the man. “So… You’ve finally found your friend, Snake.” 

   
 

Frank shrugged, trying to look somewhat in control of his emotions even though inside he was boiling like an active volcano. Jensen being referred to as ‘his friend’ now felt odd as well. As if the ex-cop somewhat belonged to him. “Yeah… Listen, I know I’m making a mess but-” 

   
 

The elf cut him swiftly with her hand. “Don’t mention it. No one’s being left behind.” Pritchard felt a wave of relief and gratitude washing over his body, soothing the burn twisting his guts. He truly owed her one for that. “Have you found a way to transport him ? Dusty will try to call on a spirit to move the target but we don’t know how we could take your friend along.” 

   
 

“There’s a storage room over there,” pointed the decker with his finger. “I’ve found skidoos, one of them has a trailer but it’s probably not long enough to fit Jensen, if we find a way to strap him to it it could work though. And we could all leave using those instead of putting up with the snow.” 

   
 

Voiceless hummed. “Yes, this could work. I guess now we’ll have to rely on your invocation, Dusty.” 

   
 

The pooka grinned. “Invocations aren’t my speciality but I will do my best ! I just hope I’ll be able to keep going on long enough to leave the masking field’s range.” 

   
 

“We’re counting on you, Dusty.” insisted Pritchard. Dusty simply made a peace sign and hopped off to warn Domitius. 

   
 

Voiceless rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Pritchard. “Let’s get the skidoos and the trailer ready before we take off. Lead the way.” 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

They were ready to leave, All three skidoos were set in front of the hangar door ready to be opened, Domitius had strapped Jensen’s pod to the trailer of Pritchard’s ride, and Voiceless was hacking through the door’s control panel to open it while Dusty, sitting back to back on the giant man's skidoo, was trying to stay in control of the spirit they had summoned which was holding the target’s pod cradled between its arms. 

   
 

The pooka was visibly struggling to keep the spirit bound and the rest of the crew was often taking glance at either the spirit or the pooka. Their mouth was tightly shut and their usual smile had faded to give room for an expression of pure focus. 

   
 

The hangar door started creaking and groaning and finally sliding up with a tired complain, cold wind slipping through the opening. Voiceless ran and jumped on her skidoo. “Let’s go ! Now !” 

   
 

The motors roared to life and they all boosted free of the Facility. The storm seemed to have stopped and night had now fully settled, and if not for the highlights of their skidoos and the glow of the spirit running after them they would have been invisible. 

   
 

The alarms flared to life. Pritchard gritted his teeth. Jensen's pod rattled inside the trailer as the group glided on the snow. Projectiles of light were fired from the Facility. The snow burst in their wake, ending their course near the runners. One of them banged against the side of the trailer. The decker's ride trembled but kept its course. Another bolt slammed against the spirit's back but it kept running, Dusty's breath came out shivering. The wind howled. Deafening the chaos growing behind them. Their knuckled white from the strength they used to keep a hold of their skidoos. They were close. So close. 

   
 

Soon their infolinks crackled back to life and Voiceless promptly took the line. “Fly Girl ! Ping our positions we need extraction ! Now !” 

   
 

“Copy, Voiceless ! I’m on my way !” answered Malik the following second. 

   
 

They kept on diving through the bolts, one of them flew dangerously close to Pritchard’s ear and the decker's nagging feeling that they were specifically targeting him grew bigger. A gust of wind brushed past them as a glooming shadow obscured the sky above their heads. Please be Malik. Please be Malik, Please be Malik. 

   
 

“I’m here, guys ! I’ll land ahead ! Hurry up !” 

   
 

Thank fuck ! The VTOL flew past them and landed in the shadows. So close. Dusty screamed something and their skidoo dodged just in time as the now free spirit tossed the pod at them. Fuck ! 

   
 

“Snake ! Help them ! We’ll need your trailer !” barked Voiceless as she immediately turned around to help Domitius pick up the pod while Dusty stood in front of their spirit. Frank slammed the breaks, almost tossing himself above the wheel. They were mostly out of reach from the Facility’s bolts but it wouldn’t be long before someone got an engine running to go after them and get their precious loads back. 

   
 

Voiceless and Domitius were both struggling in the snow while the pooka was spamming bolts of electricity toward the angry spirit which seemed to brush them off like it was nothing. Pritchard rushed toward the pod and shoved himself against Domitius. “Go help them ! I’ll deal with this !” 

   
 

The giant man nodded and let go of the pod, the weight nearly crushing the decker. Fuck, What was it inside ? An anvil ? Was Patricia a troll ? He hissed and forced himself to stay upright on his feet, shuffling through the snow to keep up with Voiceless’ pace. Domitius pulled out his revolver and fired at the spirit. The creature growled, its hands firing up with magic. The giant braced himself for the impact but Dusty was the one to take the hit. The pooka screeched, falling in the snow. The sight made Domitius' blood boil. He called upon his inner strength, letting the fire flood his veins as he charged. 

 

Bang ! 

 

The spirit toppled, its ethereal form blurring for a split second. Then the giant was upon him. An animal roar ripped from his throat as he dived on the glowing form. His fists crashed mercilessly against the rough hide and his teeth plunged inside the unreal flesh. The snow swallowed them both. Raw magic scorched his mouth as he pierced the skin. An otherworldly howl. And the form dissipated under his weight, leaving him alone in the cold. 

 

 

The man huffed and puffed, struggling to regain countenance. The fire still raging inside his chest. Begging for blood, demanding another kill, overwhelming his senses, pulling him inside a frenzy. Two pair of hands on his shoulders, pulling him up. His golden eyes met red one and the world cleared up. 

 

 

"Come on, Domi. Let's move before they catch up." 

 

 

Sibling. Family. Safe. The heat receded. "Yes. Lead." His voice was hoarse, almost a growl. Beast. 

 

 

Dusty smiled and helped him up. Voiceless left his side and returned to her own skidoo. The tip of her sniper rifle still smoking. She covered him. Protection. Ally. Trust. The cold creeped back inside his body, allowing him to breathe. Pritchard was nowhere in sight, nor were the pods. Run secured, good. The skidoos resumed their course and soon they reached the VTOL.  

 

 

Malik and Frank were loading the last pod inside. Domitius stood up to help them but Dusty caught his wrist. "No. You need to catch your breath. They'll manage." 

 

 

The giant nodded, his limbs felt numb from the intense effort his battle had been but still he wanted to give a hand. Dusty slid off the skidoo and walked ahead, a noticeable limp slowing them down. Domitius' jaw tensed. The spirit had attacked them. Right. Still the pooka hadn't say a word, instead keeping up their pace and smiling as usual as they dragged their burnt leg through the snow. The bigger man rushed to their side to offer some support, earning a chuckle out of them. 

 

 

Malik trotted out of the VTOL before they got in. "Good to see you all ! Now let's run before they catch up !"   
 

   
 

 


	3. Back Home

_> >>>>[Have you heard the clamour ? Have you heard the clamour ? The pieces are on the move ! They will flood us with nanites to control our minds and reign as the only masters ! It’s the Twelve ! Guarding the shadows Don’t you hear the clamour ?]<<<<<_ 

_\- The Oracle_  

   
 

_> >>>>[What are you babbling about again ? I thought you were supposed to stop stuffing yourself with Psyche ?]<<<<<_ 

_\- Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

_> >>>>[It helps me see the Truth ! The Truth our World is trying to hide ! And I’m not lying ! The Twelve are planning to take over the World ! They will enslave us with their filthy little robots and turn us into husks !]<<<<<_ 

_-The Oracle_  

   
 

_> >>>>[Pfft ! Everyone is trying to take over the World, it’s not breaking news. But whomever the Twelve are they would never manage to spread their ‘nanites’ around. If GoldenRush hears about it they will get crushed. You don’t mess with a Great Dragon.]<<<<<_ 

_\- Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

_> >>>>[The Dragons will fall too ! The Twelve will kill them all ! They don’t want competition for their Project ! We are all Doomed ! Doomed !]<<<<<_ 

_-The Oracle_  

   
 

_> >>>>[Whatever you say. I suggest you stop mixing up your stuff when you’re scrolling the Shadowland. You’ll end up in Shadowcell.]<<<<<_ 

_\- Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

_> >>>>[You fool ! You are blind ! Hear the clamour ! It’s coming closer ! It’s coming closer !]<<<<<_ 

_\- The Oracle_  

   
 

* * *

 

  
 

Pritchard refused to leave Jensen’s side while the rest of the crew went to meet the client and deliver him the target. Not like he cared. When Voiceless had called their employer the pods were on their last hour of autonomy. He told them to meet him on top of a corporate building to deliver the target. Domitius and Voiceless were lifting the pod while Dusty carried the battery. The decker remained inside, watching Adam like a guard dog. 

   
 

A middle-aged ork was standing still on the edge of the helipad, flanked with two bodyguards in black suits. Voiceless and Domitius set the pod down in front of him and the elf handed the man the flashdrive containing the file Pritchard had downloaded and the client nodded his approval before walking to the pod. 

   
 

Inside, an ork woman was laying still, the client kneeled next to her and let his large hand brush the window tenderly. “...My sweet daughter… You’re finally home.” he whispered softly, his lower lip trembling as he stifled a sob before kissing the glass reverently. He went up to his feet and looked at Voiceless in the eyes, all traces of emotion vanished in a blink. “You did an excellent job. I will send you the payment right away… with a bonus as promised. Thank you for your service.” 

   
 

Voiceless nodded politely. “If all is well we’ll take our leave. If you need another job done, you know how to contact us.” 

   
 

“I will surely recommend your services. Farewell, runners.” replied the ork, making a gesture at his bodyguards who came to grab the pod and carry it inside the building in complete silence like a funeral procession. 

   
 

Voiceless let out a relieved breath and turned her heels back to the VTOL with Dusty and Domitius. They hopped into the aircraft, not surprised to see Pritchard in the exact same position as they left him, staring intently at Jensen’s pod. The frost had melted since they left Alaska and now the window was completely clear, allowing them to see his face and the upper half of his bare torso. Seems like he hadn’t lost his arms, that was already a good thing but they still needed to make sure the aug didn’t sustain any brain damage from staying underwater too long. 

   
 

“Too bad you didn’t come with us, child. You missed a heart-breaking reunion between a father and his daughter over there.” chirped Dusty sitting next to the decker who barely seemed to acknowledge them. 

   
 

“Don’t care. It’s just a job.” mumbled Pritchard not even blinking. 

   
 

“It’s the job that helped you recover your buddy. If I were you I’d be somewhat grateful toward our employer.” noted the pooka unstrapping their gear while the VTOL took off to fly back to their base. 

   
 

Frank hummed. He was mostly grateful towards his companions who helped him get Jensen out of here, the employer was just a ‘happy coincidence’. But right now his entire mind was focused on the pod so intensely he couldn’t express his gratitude properly. Maybe he would be able to once he had rested or at least taken Jensen’s pod to the safety of their HQ. Dusty gave him a pat on the shoulder but didn’t insist, no point talking to a rock after all. 

   
 

After a few minutes of flying Malik set them down and the decker immediately stood. Domitius stood as well and immediately went to grab one side of the pod, knowing he was the only one strong enough to carry most of the heavy weight. Pritchard gave him a grateful nod and lifted his end of the load. His muscles were aching from all this lifting but soon he wouldn’t have to bother any more. If everything was fine they could unfreeze Jensen and all would be well. Maybe he would agree to join the team ? After all, the work he did for Sarif wasn’t so far from shadowrunning. Or maybe they would part ways again so he could play the hero on his own. 

   
 

He stumbled a little as he exited the VTOL, Malik came rushing to the boys’ help. The pilot had a total freak-out when she was told they had found Jensen, for a second she had them worried she was about to crash the VTOL just so she could take a look inside the pod for herself. She still didn’t get the occasion to see her old coworker yet. Or at least the body he left behind. It was something after all. At best Jensen would be walking around in no time. At worst… well… at worst he would finally be able to grieve properly.  

   
 

They led the pod inside Dusty’s room while the pooka was moving their mess around to give the pod enough space and access to a plug. No doubt they would need to reroute the power supply but for now it would do. Dusty’s room was filled with various workstations, mostly covered with explosives of all sorts, an examination table they used when healing one of the members of the crew, numerous bookshelves filled with documentation about bombs, grenades, and everything connected to it but also a large amount of medical books. The pooka didn’t own a bed, they didn’t seem to need much sleep and mostly took power naps in random places around the HQ rather than stay in their own room. To be fair Pritchard wouldn’t stay in his own room to sleep either if he was meddling with things that could explode anytime. 

   
 

They dropped the pod and Malik promptly stuck her face to the window. “God, Jensen. What happened to you...” 

   
 

“A year in a coma will do that to you, child,” explained Dusty already picking up related medical books from the shelves. “But worry not, I’ll find a way to wake him up safely. And if I can’t I’ll find someone who can.” 

   
 

“Don’t worry, Dusty. I trust you.” 

   
 

Pritchard wasn’t so sure about that himself. Sure Dusty patched them up after every run and so far he didn’t have to complain about their skills as a healer but waking up someone who had been in a coma for a year was an entirely other level. If only they still had Sarif’s resources. 

   
 

Malik startled him back to Earth by putting her hand on his shoulder. “Come on, Frank. You look like you need some rest.” 

   
 

He sighed. “Guess you’re right. Tell me if there’s any updates, Dusty” 

   
 

The pooka grinned. “Of course, child. You’ll be the first to know !” 

   
 

Malik led him gently out of the room back to his. “You did well, Frank. I’m glad you were able to bring him back.” 

   
 

The decker nodded slowly, he still couldn’t believe it himself. Maybe tomorrow he would wake up and Jensen would be gone once more. Maybe the trip killed him and he hadn’t realised it yet. He wished Malik good night and closed the door to his room. The emptiness of it felt even more crushing. He hesitated to get on his computer and spend the night scrolling through Shadowland BBS so he wouldn’t have to fall asleep and start a new day. He rubbed his tired face between his hands and started to get rid of his gear. The pieces of clothing and armour fell onto the floor and he didn’t bother picking them up, he dropped his cyberdeck and stun gun next to his desk and slumped on the edge of his bed. 

   
 

His eyes were stinging, fatigue he told himself. He started to sniffle and his throat tightened, “I’m just coming up with a cold” he mumbled under his breath. His hands trembled, it’s just all the physical efforts from carrying the pods taking their toll. Then tears flooded his eyes and his heart started to ache and he couldn’t lie to himself any more. 

   
 

A mix of relief and pain washed over him as he curled up on his mattress. He felt miserable yet his entire being wanted to scream with joy. It would all over start again, their mutual jabbing, Jensen getting tired of his endless shenanigans and then leaving him behind. Again. He never really mattered in the aug’s life after all. He was just his ‘annoying coworker’. The one who didn’t stop Sarif from stuffing him with unneeded augmentations while he was defenceless. The one who would try to undermine him. The one who couldn’t save him from Panchea. He wasn’t Megan. 

   
 

He stifled a pitiful sob in his pillow. How could he ever compete with Megan Reed ? He was just some nerdy decker, he had nothing that could interest the ex-cop in him and now he would live it all over again. This jumping feeling in his chest whenever Jensen would look in his direction and then that awful twist when he would be reminded that he was nothing more than a nuisance to the man. 

   
 

He wanted to scream, he wanted to run away, he wanted to disappear and never be heard of again. All this time… an entire year… hoping for Jensen to return… and now that his wish had been granted he could feel nothing but dizzying pain. The Gods must really have a twisted sense of humour. He took a deep breath, wheezing under his pillow. How ridiculous must he be, crying alone in his room over a crush. Pathetic. He rolled on his back, pushing the tears away with the back of his hand. He needed to get a hold of himself. Get his shit together. ‘Let him go’ as everyone has been telling him for a year. He should have listened. He wouldn’t be feeling as terrible as he did now.  

   
 

He sat up on the bed. The sharp pinch of his heart remained, unmoving. 

   
 

No point trying to sleep then. 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

Pritchard emerged from his room with a five feet long face. He had spent his entire night crying while browsing the Shadowland BBS and the Dark Web. He felt drained, useless, and out of the world. He went straight to the kitchen and made a beeline toward the coffee maker. 

   
 

“Oof, someone didn’t sleep tonight.” noted Malik from her spot. 

   
 

Pritchard turned around, he hadn’t realised she was already up. She waved at him with a gentle grin but the decker could see that she hadn’t slept well either. It was somewhat comforting to know he wasn’t the only one affected by what had happened the day before. 

   
 

“Yeah, well I got a little caught up with Shadowland BBS. It’s fine, I’ll sleep tonight.” he mumbled as he started fiddling with the coffee machine. 

   
 

“Yeah sure… By the way Dusty told me they were out for the day, Domitius tagged along. They need some equipment to check up on Jensen so they went out to buy it… or steal it. I never know with these two.” 

   
 

Pritchard snickered. This pooka couldn’t behave properly even if they were paid for it. At least they would have the needed equipment one way or another. If this could play in favour of Jensen then he didn’t mind having the pooka nabbing some items here and there. He knew them well enough to know they wouldn’t do something that would actually impair a hospital but whatever black market clinics had spawned in Detroit should be trembling in their boots right now. 

   
 

The machine released its sweet caffeine and the decker promptly took the fresh pot, he would probably end up drinking most of it before anyone else came to bother him. Malik sipped her tea calmly, occasionally staring aimlessly through the boarded up windows. Seems like neither of them were in the shape for some mindless chatting and that was probably for the best. Pritchard had his mind too full with static to hold up a proper conversation. 

   
 

The black liquid filled his body, chasing the numbness away. Maybe he should be checking on Jensen or something. After all if Dusty wasn’t here any longer no one was watching over him. On the other hand Jensen had survived inside this pod for a whole year and the decker had just managed to tone down the cruel twist inside his chest and seeing the ex-cop’s lifeless face would bring it back to life. 

   
 

He quietly drank his coffee until he had emptied the pot all by himself. At least he felt better, mind clearer, for a little while. The decker stood and went to clean his mug and the pot in the sink before he noticed that Faridah hadn’t moved from her spot. How long has she been there actually ? Her cup of tea was still half full and it wasn’t steaming any longer. 

   
 

“Uh… Malik ? Are you okay ?” 

   
 

The pilot turned her face towards him, she looked even more tired now. Her eyes oddly glassy for someone with her sharp mind. “I...don’t know… Actually I do. I feel terrible, Frank.” she finally said, dropping her half-finished cup of tea on the table. 

   
 

“What’s wrong ?” It was so unlike her to fall into sadness like this. Even when Sarif Industries fell and they both lost their jobs she still remained positive. Pritchard could understand feeling depressed himself but Malik ? Shouldn’t she be jumping around like some happy bunny after they recovered Jensen ? She was his friend, wasn’t she ? She should be relieved and overjoyed. 

   
 

“I… I thought he was dead. I had given up on him, Frank. He was… He _is_ my friend. And I gave up on him.” 

   
 

“Malik, it’s okay. Everyone thought he was dead. You did what anyone else-” 

   
 

“Not you. You didn’t think he was dead, did you ? I know you still have that alert that warns you when something is recovered in Panchea. You kept thinking they would find him someday and I...” she sniffled, her eyes filling with water as her body started to shake violently. Her voice broke. “I abandoned him there… I forgot about him.” 

   
 

The decker tried to open his mouth but his voice got stuck. Say something. Anything ! What do people say to each others when that kind of thing happened ? Malik broke down in front of his eyes, raising up her arms to stop the flood of tears streaming down her face. She had betrayed her friend. Left him to rot in that cold Facility. Told everyone who would hear her that he was gone, telling them to let go of him. Killing a little more the very idea he could still be breathing. How could she even pretend to be his friend after what she had done ? 

   
 

Pritchard stood there, ice in his veins. Nothing he could say could fix this. It would be like slapping duct tape on a seismic breach. Just like nothing she had said before could have convinced him to start grieving Jensen. And since he couldn’t say a thing he stepped forward, coming across his own boundaries, and pulled her in his arms. Faridah felt limp and boneless between in his embrace , so frail even him could have broken her in half. He couldn’t believe this, he refused to believe this. Malik was strong, a pillar, she kept her head high and her mood even higher. He shushed her softly, rocking slowly with her, both in an attempt to soothe her and himself. Soon the trembling stopped, and the sobs were reduced to a sniffling. She remained motionless against his chest, calming down slowly before she gently pulled herself free from the decker’s arms. 

   
 

“Thank you,” she whispered, offering Pritchard a small but honest smile, her red, puffy eyes holding eye contact with the decker. “I knew I could count on you, you’re a real friend, Frank.” 

   
 

Pritchard shrugged, trying to play it cool when in reality he was on the verge of crying himself and his legs were trembling from stress. Malik put her hand on his shoulder, almost startling him. 

   
 

“Listen, I know you think you’re bad with people but you’re not. I needed that.” 

   
 

She let go of him, picked up her cup, and left the cafeteria whistling as she returned to her room, leaving the decker alone and utterly confused. He huffed to himself, trying to regain a semblance of control himself. This was the last time he ever tried to play the emotional comfort buddy. This was absolutely awful. 

   
 

He needed more coffee. 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

A day had passed and Pritchard had barely gotten some rest, Dusty had probably returned from their medical raid and started running tests on Jensen by now. He did hear some chirping banter outside his room earlier and supposed it had been between the pooka and the giant. He couldn’t even tell how long ago, he had lost track of time. Right now he was floating inside his own skin as if the air around him had turned into a thick sludge only disturbed by the faint glow of his computer and the distant sound of his fingers hitting the keyboard. 

   
 

He should sleep. Stop browsing the Deep Web and the Shadowland BBS like an addict. But his mind was restless, unable to let him relax past a few minutes before plaguing him with relentless nagging. The cup of coffee he had on his desk had been emptied a long time ago and he was already out of caffeine pills. He would have to ask the pooka for a refill but he didn’t want to interrupt them in the middle of their work. On the other hand he could feel his head lolling from time to time and was on the verge of falling asleep on his chair. 

   
 

He cursed under his breath and stood up on unsteady legs, grabbing his cup of coffee to get a fix. He should probably get some actual food as well. No doubt Domitius had made lunch or dinner or whatever and left his share to heat up in the fridge like he usually did when the decker was locked inside his room. He dragged his feet through the hallways, frowning as the piercing light of the setting sun hit him in the face. Some noise in the kitchen, maybe another one baited by hunger like him. Didn’t matter he wouldn’t talk to them or even look in their general direction. 

   
 

He walked straight toward the fridge, ignoring the other presence in the cafeteria. He started to rummage through the large choice of uncooked food and paused for a second as he held a pocket filled of red liquid in the palm of his hand… blood ? 

   
 

“If you’re not going to pick up something I suggest you close the door quickly, child. there’s a few things in there that need to be kept at cold temperatures.” 

   
 

Pritchard jumped, tossing the pocket back into the vegetable drawer, and slamming the fridge shut. The pooka was standing back to him, their eyes set on various medical pictures they had pinned to the wall. “… Dusty, was that blood ? Why is there blood in the fridge ?” 

   
 

“Hmm ? Oh, yes, that’s blood. Your friend is anaemic so I had to pick up some. Quite a pain to find tho. Did you know he was O negative ? Couldn’t you pick someone with an A plus blood type like everyone else ? Gee.” 

   
 

“Uh… Yes. I know he’s O negative. And it’s not like I can choose his blood type ! It’s as much of a pain in the ass for you as it is for me !” retorted the decker. 

   
 

“Hmmm… That’s fair. If you’re looking for food Domi left you a plate in the microwave. He wrote a post-it about it on the fridge but I guess you didn’t notice.” 

   
 

Pritchard turned his head and noticed the little yellow paper slapped on the door. The scribble was nearly unreadable but the decker managed to decode it regardless. ‘Frank. Food in microwave. D’. He felt his cheek redden subtly. Idiot. He didn’t bother answering the pooka and instead went to check the microwave. A plate of cold curry with chicken was laying there. He should remember to thank the giant next time he met him. 

   
 

Pritchard started heating the meal and only then decided to pay attention to the pictures on the wall. He remembered seeing those while he was working with Sarif. Brain scans, ECG, ultrasonography pictures, and all the likes. “Are those Jensen’s ?” 

   
 

“Yes ! I’m making sure he’s fit for being awakened. Some of those may look worrying, especially the ECG but that’s because he’s in therapeutical hypothermic state.” explained Dusty pointing at the said graph. 

   
 

“Have you… found anything ?” working with Sarif Pritchard had learnt his fair share about augmentations but he wasn’t really that good about actual medicine. 

   
 

“Good news is, no. I haven’t. I mean he’s anaemic and lacks plenty of vitamins and other things but besides that he doesn’t sustain brain damage. His augs seem to be working fine, I admit this is not my field of expertise but I haven’t found anything that could lead me to believe there’s a malfunction. At least on the vital ones. I’d rather have someone who actually knows their stuff to see the leg and arm augments.” 

   
 

The decker couldn’t hold the deep sigh of relief that escaped his chest. He was fine. He was fine. He was- 

   
 

“However-” _Fuck_ “He barely has a shred of essence left, whomever augmented him must have liked gambling because honestly it’s even surprising he managed to walk around with all the things he has stuffed inside.” 

   
 

The decker gritted his teeth. He knew Sarif was thinking he was doing the best for Jensen and that he knew his stuff but did he really needed to push it this far ? “Yeah, I know he left him with 1.2 essence left but-” 

   
 

“1.2 ? No, child. Your friend barely had 0.5 essence left.” 

   
 

_What ?_ “You’re kidding me, right ? I read his medical reports, Sarif said-” 

   
 

“Well either Sarif lied or your friend got more augmentations on his own.” interrupted the pooka. They pulled one of the sheets from the wall and handed it to the decker. He knew that kind of document, had to read them quite often himself, various information on the patient’s blood composition, God did Jensen’s looked bad with all those numbers showing up in the negative and then he reached the essence number. 0.5 essence left. That was wrong. He clearly remembered reading this same paper a year and a half ago and it had shown a different one. Sarif always said he wanted Jensen to keep at least one point of essence left in case he showed some magical potential so why would he dig deeper into that number ? 

   
 

“That’s… That’s not what I remember.” 

   
 

“Do you know if your friend could have tried getting more augmentations by himself ?” asked the pooka, still focused on the rest of their data in front of them.  

   
 

“I don’t know. Or at least he never told me about it.” 

   
 

“Hmm… Welp ! Can’t be helped now ! Let’s just focus on getting him out of this coma first. Speaking of which you’ll have to give him your bed.” 

   
 

“What ?!” strangled the decker, crumpling the sheet of paper he was holding. “It’s no ! Big no ! He’s not sleeping in _my_ bed !” 

   
 

The pooka turned to him with a vaguely confused expression. “Well it’s not like we have much choice. You know we can’t give him Domitius’ room. I don’t have a bed for him, Malik and Voiceless both are ladies, which leaves us with you. I’m afraid we’re out of options.” 

   
 

“Why can’t he sleep on the couch, then !” protested Pritchard loudly. He was not going to share a bed with Jensen. Ever. No. Absolutely not. He did not want to even conceptualise about him snoring next to him or heating the sheets so close to his body. No. Never. Inconceivable. Scandalous. I mean he did caught himself thinking about it sometimes but- NO. NO, HE DID NOT. HE WAS ABOVE THAT. IT WAS ADAM FUCKING JENSEN. AND HE SHOULD _NOT_ BE EVEN _THINKING_ ABOUT BEING UNDER THE SAME SHEETS AS _HIM_. 

   
 

“Then you sleep on the couch. Your friend will need a proper bed for his recovery.” 

   
 

“It’s _my_ bed !” 

   
 

“Then sleep next to him. Gee. What are you, twelve ? It’s not a big deal.” 

   
 

“You’re too ace to understand how big of a deal this is.” 

   
 

The pooka shrugged, not even trying to deny it. “Maybe. But I keep thinking you’re making it look worse than it actually is.” 

   
 

Pritchard threw his hands up in frustration. He knew the pooka was right. But it still annoyed him senseless. He couldn’t sleep next to Jensen while the man was still unconscious, that wasn’t… right. So he better get the couch ready for a little while. “Fine. Couch it is then. When are you waking him up ?” 

   
 

“The sooner the better. What do you think about tomorrow morning ? It should give you some time to enjoy your bed one last time before you get to lend it.” 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

If Pritchard had ‘gracefully’ given away his bed to Jensen he hadn’t given up on his room. Yet it felt like he was some sort of hospital receptionist, expected to tell people everything about every second that ticked by. They had pulled Jensen out of his pod in the early morning and set him in his bed. At first Dusty was there to make sure the frozen popsicle was warming up properly and that the blood transfusion he was having went on safely so people went to bother _them_ instead of _him_. But once Jensen had reached a decent body temperature and the blood transfusion was done they had left, showing up only once per hour. And since their healer wasn’t anywhere in sight everyone had decided it was time to bother the decker trying to focus on his bloody program. 

   
 

It had some perks. People like Malik and Domitius often brought him ‘offerings’ in the shape of food or fresh cups of coffee like he was some sort of Cerberus keeping the Underworld’s entrance. Voiceless didn’t really bother about soothing him but the elf wasn’t the most regular visitor. Then Dusty was being the most bothersome. Tumbling in loudly, checking on Jensen and asking _him_ if he had noticed anything while they were away. As if he was constantly by Jensen’s bedside. It was true that sometimes he turned over to make sure the man was still breathing, sure. Or that he would rush to the monitor the pooka had installed whenever it was beeping to make sure everything was alright. And occasionally he would catch himself readjusting the ex-cop’s pillow or blanket to make sure he was comfortable. But it’s not like he was fussing over him all the time. He had work to do ! 

   
 

The pooka had left about ten minutes ago, leaving a very disgruntled decker behind, when Malik showed up at the door with another cup of coffee and an energy bar. “Hey ! How are you holding up ?” 

   
 

“Oh, I don’t know ! Maybe you can ask all the people who enter and leave all day how I’m feeling ! I thought this room had become the regional petting zoo !” snapped Pritchard pausing _once again_ his precious typing to address the pilot. 

   
 

Faridah winced but didn’t bite back. “Yeah… sorry about that.” she said as she left the offerings on the decker’s desk. 

   
 

“What do you want, Malik ? I told you I would warn you if he were to wake up.” 

   
 

“Well, I’m worried. Shouldn’t he have woken up a while ago ?” 

   
 

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask Dusty about it ?” 

   
 

“I did !” protested the pilot. “They told me he could have woken up the second he was warmed up ! And now it’s been what ? Twelve hours since we pulled him out of the pod ? And he’s still sleeping.” 

   
 

Pritchard sighed. He knew that. For having asked Dusty the very same question when they were still watching over Jensen earlier. “Yeah well maybe he’s catching up for all the all nighters he had to pull prior to Panchea. Who knows ?” 

   
 

“I think a year sleeping inside a pod was enough for that, and I’ll have you know that he slept plenty enough while I was carrying him around in my VTOL.” 

   
 

The decker shrugged. He had no idea how long it took to wake up a man that had been in a coma for a year but twelve hours did seem a little light for him to recover. Even Jensen. “You remember when the attack on Sarif Industries happened ? When they kidnapped Doctor Reed ? He was out for a while too. More than a week.” 

   
 

“That’s true but he was also being stuffed with sedatives and painkillers so they could augment him.” noted Malik with a shake of her head. 

   
 

“Listen, if Dusty is not worried about him we have no reason to be.” Or so he told himself. But would the pooka really tell them if there was a reason to worry ? Wouldn’t they try to preserve their sanity by keeping it somewhat secret ? 

   
 

“I guess you’re right. Sorry to have bothered you again, Frank. I think I’ll call it a night and get some rest. See you.” 

   
 

Pritchard hummed something back and Malik left the room, closing the door behind her. The decker turned over to see if he was alone and cut from the rest of the crew before quietly standing up and walking toward the bed. Jensen hadn’t moved. Of course. He was breathing peacefully, eyes closed, an IV drip slowly pouring TPN inside his bloodstream hung at the side of the bed. Pritchard sat on the edge, careful not to crush the sleeping man. The ex-cop didn’t stir, the decker was pretty sure Jensen was the type to have light sleep but it didn’t matter right now. He looked at Adam’s face, he was still very pale, even if returning to a normal temperature and getting a blood transfusion had helped bringing back some colours to his cheeks. He definitely needed to get back in shape and there was no doubt Dusty would have to physically fight him to prevent him from working out the second he would step out of bed. The aug had been fitted with some of Domitius’ spare clothing given that he had nothing but a pair of boxers on when they pulled him out of the pod but the two men were not the same size and Jensen looked even skinnier in the too large clothes. 

   
 

The decker ran his hand along Jensen’s fingers, they were smooth and cold. Pritchard wondered if it had been jarring for Jensen the first time the cold metal came in contact with his remaining skin. Must have been. He remembered that debate with Taggart a year ago. ‘ _When I saw myself in the mirror the first time I smashed the damn thing_ ’. Had Jensen blamed him too ? He probably held Sarif accountable for the change but did he consider him as a responsible of his metamorphosis as well ? After all he didn’t step up to tell their boss that he was going too far. That it wasn’t right to weaponise their security chief that way. That he deserved better than to live his entire life branded as a tool of destruction. But he didn’t intervene. He didn’t have the feelings he has now back then. That was bad, right ? Caring about someone only once you’ve got interest in them. 

   
 

Pritchard slid his hand under the black palm, exploring the intricate mechanism of his wrist with the tip of his fingers. He brushed against the blade’s opening, staying a little longer there, as if he was stroking an aching scar and trying to push the pain away, before allowing himself to explore further. The sleek carbon fibre muscles ran under his touch, interrupted only by the occasional Typhoon port. He wished he could have known how the man’s skin would have reacted under his touches before his limbs were taken away. His careful mapping was interrupted by the sleeve of the shirt, pulling the decker back to reality. What was he even doing ? Jensen wasn’t even conscious, he couldn’t consent to whatever he thought he was doing. Holding hands was a thing but this was just downright creepy. 

   
 

Frank let go of the arm and readjusted it on the bed, shame prickling at his cheeks. He took a quick glance at Jensen’s face, both relieved and pained to see him still closed. What would have happened if he had woken up then ? The man would have probably pushed him away. Or punched him. A growing tumour clawed at his throat, cramping his airway until all that escaped from his mouth was a wheezing sob. The decker’s head pulsed with an agonising cry, forcing him to hold it between his hands to prevent it from exploding. His eyes burnt and he mustered all his remaining willpower to push the tears away. But it wasn’t enough. The water broke through and ran along his nose and cheeks. A cruel snake curled around his heart, choking the muscle it found there. Pritchard couldn’t fight the ruthless affliction spreading through his mind. His body jolted, shook periodically by short, pitiful gasps as he tried desperately to catch his breath. 

   
 

Why did it hurt so much ? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys have any questions about the universe the story is set it feel free to hit me up ! I did take a few liberties with the Shadowrun universe to make the Deus Ex universe fit into it so in case of confusion I'll be glad to answer ^^


	4. Old Friend

_> >>>>[Man, I think I have a problem.]<<<<<_ 

_-The Oracle_  

   
 

_> >>>>[Yes, you need to get clean.]<<<<<_ 

_-Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

_> >>>>[No, not that, the Nanite stuff.]<<<<<_ 

_-The Oracle_  

   
 

_> >>>>[You’re still on that ? You just got high and invented it. Stop bothering about it you’ll just get in trouble.]<<<<<_ 

_-Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

_> >>>>[Dude, I swear I found some really disturbing shit. When I came down from my last trip I had some really fucked up stuff written all over the walls. I really need to do some digging. That’s bomb.]<<<<<_ 

_-The Oracle_  

   
 

_> >>>>[And what did you find exactly ? What’s your big and fascinating discovery]<<<<<_ 

_-Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

_> >>>>[I can’t tell you here. It’s not secure enough. Listen when I have some solid evidence I’ll contact you, alright ?]<<<<<_ 

_-The Oracle_  

   
 

_> >>>>[Whatever. I have better things to do than freaking out over another of your bullshit conspiracy theory.]_ 

_-Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

It has been two days now. Pritchard had barely caught some rest and most of the time it was only power naps in his seat. Once he had woken up on the couch with a blanket on his back and was pretty certain Domitius had picked him up and carried there. Still he now had to deal with Dusty scolding him for his disastrous sleep schedule and Voiceless nagging him because the lack of sleep was affecting his performance. And he didn’t need to be fussed over. 

   
 

Jensen still hadn’t shown any signs of regaining consciousness and the whole crew was concerned about his recovery. 

   
 

“Maybe the cold affected him worse than we thought.” mumbled Malik pushing a piece of beef around with the tip of her fork. Pritchard had been dragged out of his room to share a meal with the rest of the crew instead of brooding alone, Dusty insisting that he was going to turn crazy if he spent one more minute spying Jensen from the corner of his eye. 

   
 

“Or his pod had a malfunction.” suggested Voiceless getting a refill from the pan in the middle of the table. 

   
 

“The battery was dead when we arrived.” noted Domitius pouring too much spice in his plate. 

   
 

“That doesn’t explain why he’s not waking up. He’s not sustaining any brain damage. This has to do with something else.” countered Dusty eyeing the pictures still pinned to the wall. 

   
 

“What about his essence ?” finally uttered Pritchard. The decker had barely touched his plate. It was good, sure. But the back of his mind was elsewhere and he couldn’t push himself to properly focus on his surroundings. 

   
 

“Hmmm, that’s not a bad idea, child. This may be linked.” 

   
 

“Yeah but how do we solve that ? Isn’t essence is something you can’t regenerate ?” asked the pilot with a note of anxiety creeping inside her voice. 

   
 

“Indeed, you can’t. But despite how low his essence is it shouldn’t be lethal. There must be a way to wake him up despite this.” 

   
 

“Maybe there’s some specialist somewhere who could help us ? Adam did wake up after all his surgery.” continued Malik now stabbing her piece of meat with her cutlery. 

   
 

“Well, LIMB clinics had experts on the essence topic and such but now I doubt these specialists run the streets.” 

   
 

“...what about Sarif ?” blurted Pritchard. The rest of the crew turned towards the decker who had still his eyes lowered on his plate. 

   
 

“What about him ?” asked Malik with a cautious tone. If the pilot had nothing in particular against their ex-boss learning about the suspicious modification in Adam’s essence count did make her cautious. 

   
 

“Well, he was keeping a close eye on Jensen when he augmented him. If something special had to be done to wake him up he must know about it. And if he doesn’t he probably knows people who do.” 

   
 

“I guess but how do we contact him ?” 

   
 

“I still have his infolink. If he hasn’t changed it. Even if he did I can probably track him down somehow.” 

   
 

The crew exchanged a few looks. It was worth a try but those who had worked with Sarif knew of his aggressive strategies or how Adam had been augmented and the rest had heard about it in more or less exaggerated ways. Neither of them were really enthusiastic about potentially owing a debt to someone who could exploit a contract loophole without a single second of hesitation or a pang of remorse. 

   
 

“And how do you think you’ll be able to convince him ?” finally asked Voiceless. 

   
 

“I think he owes Jensen that much, he’s the one responsible for all of this in the first place. If he refuses I’ll play dirty. I don’t care. It’s not like he can criticise me for that.” 

   
 

The group remained silent for a few moment, giving the decker’s proposition some thought while the said man started to finally shove some food inside his mouth. 

   
 

“Fine. Do it as soon as possible. We can’t let this situation impair us for too long.” decided the elf, approved by nods of the other members. 

   
 

They all resumed their meals and chatter except for Pritchard who couldn’t help but wonder if he was about to sell his soul to the devil or if he was about to lose Jensen again by revealing that he was alive to their old boss. 

   
 

He ended his meal quickly and left in the same time as the others before heading back to his room, locking himself inside. He did not want to be interrupted. He glanced at Jensen’s unconscious body. His clothes had been changed and he had been turned to the side to prevent bedsores. He had to do this for him. It’s the least he could do. The decker took in a deep breath and typed the infolink number on his phone. 

   
 

It rang once before someone picked it up. 

   
 

“Frank ? It’s been a while since I heard about you ! How are you doing ? Did you find a job with the people I recommended you ?” greeted the other voice with a cheery tone. 

   
 

“I’m… I’m fine. Found some work with some… old friends of mine.” 

   
 

“Good ! Good ! I’m glad you were able to pick yourself up after the Incident. I know you deserve it.” 

   
 

“Yeah...Lot of people in Sarif Industries did.” retorted the decker in a too soft tone. He wanted to get mad, he really did. For what Sarif did to Adam. But hearing the older man genuinely caring about his well-being in that paternalist tone did bring back some memories. 

   
 

“That’s true… I wish things didn’t turn the way they did but I guess the past is in the past,” admitted his old boss, regret lingering in his voice. “Anyway ! Why are you calling me, Frank ? Do you need something ?” 

   
 

“Well, _I_ don’t need something but… someone we know does.” 

   
 

“Someone we know ? Alright, don’t kill me with suspense and tell me who it is.” 

   
 

“It’s Jensen.” finally blurted the decker. No turning back now. 

   
 

“Adam ? Listen, son… I already told you, you need to let go. If the rescue team didn’t find him then-” 

   
 

“We found him.” 

   
 

“What ? What are you talking about ?” 

   
 

“My team and I… we had a run in one of those recovery facilities. There were pods there for rescued Panchea people in a coma and… Jensen was there. Labelled as a ‘John Doe’.” 

   
 

“Your team ? A run ? Frank, what kind of stuff did you got yourself tangled with ?” 

   
 

“Listen. I’m doing some shadowrunning now. No one was about to hire an aug for cyber-security so I had to go back to my old ways. But that’s not what we are talking about right now. We’re talking about Jensen.” 

   
 

Sarif sighed loudly at the end of the line. “Fine. Right. God, Frank. What happened ?” 

   
 

“We stole his pod. When we left. That was about three or four days ago. Our healer, one of my team members, Dusty. They ran some tests and decided to try to pull Jensen out of his coma but… he hasn’t woken up yet. It’s been more than two days. We don’t know exactly why but we suspect it has to do with his essence or something.” 

   
 

“His essence ? Frank, you know I’m always careful with that. I showed you the lab results and-” 

   
 

“Well you lied.” snapped the decker. There it goes. 

   
 

“Excuse me ?” 

   
 

“Dusty ran some tests as well and the data doesn’t match with the one you showed me back then. You said he had more than one point of essence left but our tests show that he only has 0.5 remaining. And Jensen couldn’t have gotten more augmentations before the Incident.” 

   
 

“Wow, ok. Frank, listen to me. I promise the data I showed you was the real deal. I swear ! I never intended to harm Adam, you know that ! Listen, It’s true I didn’t always play right with Adam but I would not go that far. Can I see him ?” 

   
 

“Why do you want to ?” 

   
 

“Jesus, Frank ! I just want to make sure he’s alright ! Hear me out, son. If I can do anything to help him I will but I can’t just do it blindly. You can understand that !” 

   
 

Frank sighed, that was true. Sarif would probably want to double check the data himself and that was a fair demand. After all the decker all but accused him of mangling Adam’s magic potential which was considered by many like the very base of the soul. And Jensen had been the man’s favourite employee, wanting to see him face to face, even without the accusation, was something he should have expected. “Fine. I’ll have to talk to my team about this. We can’t just let anyone come in and go as they please.” 

   
 

“Yes, I understand. Just send me a message once everything is settled. I owe you both that much.” 

   
 

“Thanks, David.” 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

“I don’t want him in our HQ.” hissed Voiceless. The elf was standing straight, eyes piercing, arms crossed, a wall. 

   
 

“I know it’s going to be a pain in the ass to bring him here discreetly but he promised he would help !” protested Pritchard. 

   
 

“It’s not just about that. Once he knows about our base he would be able to show up whenever he pleases. It’s not like he won’t recognise the building’s insides since it was his. And if I can make sure he’s not tailed the first time I have no guarantees he won’t be the day he decides to show up on his own.” 

   
 

“Listen, he’s not a runner but he’s not an idiot either. He’s not going to fuck up this badly.” 

   
 

“Voiceless do raise a fair point, child.” noted Dusty from their seat. “And smart men can become real idiots if their lives are threatened. What tells you that he won’t sell us out if he’s pressured enough ?” 

   
 

“Do you really think someone would attack a multi-millionaire like Sarif just to find a crew of rag-tag shadowrunners ?” 

   
 

Voiceless squinted at his comment but didn’t retort. He wasn’t exactly wrong. “Well, that’s another fair point.” added the pooka rubbing salt on the wound. 

   
 

Voiceless inhaled deeply. “Fine, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try to hide here if he’s threatened at some point.” 

   
 

“What if he doesn’t know about the main way in ? We did make it hard to come in with all the traps and the keycodes. But if Malik picked him up in the VTOL and dropped him inside he wouldn't know how to reach us any other way.” 

   
 

“That’s a very good plan, child !” cheered Dusty clapping in their hands.  

   
 

Voiceless groaned, throwing her head back in defeat. “Fine ! But if he tries anything suspicious I’ll personally kick him out then drop a virus in your system !” 

   
 

Pritchard nodded, all he had to do was plan out something then meet up with his ex-boss. 

   
 

* * *

 

 

 

_Meet me at the Broken Mirror’s Pub tonight 8:30_  

_Try to look inconspicuous and blend in_  

_We have to make sure we’re not tailed_  

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

Pritchard took another sip of his beer. He really needed a smoke. He came in nearly an hour earlier than the appointed meeting and was tired of drinking cheap beer and fending off drunken patrons. He shouldn’t have let his hair down and opted for tight fitting jeans instead of his usual cargo pants but he didn’t want to look too much like he was on a job. He was supposed to look like he was trying to have a good time. Even if his glowering attitude couldn’t give a more opposite impression. 

   
 

The barman had tried a ‘tough day at work ?’ small talk before the decker had snapped back while throwing something about his ridiculous moustache which definitely had upset the man away. And probably made him spit in his drink but to be honest he deserved it. He was about halfway through his third beer when Sarif finally showed up. Absolutely not inconspicuous. The older man was dressed with a long grey coat covering an elegant waistcoat, his neck wrapped in a bright red scarf, a leather messenger bag sling across his shoulder. He was wearing gloves above his augmented hands and if not for the mark on his forehead and his slightly unusual eyes no one would be able to tell he was augmented. At best people would think he’s his dad, at worst he had an entire line of pickpockets waiting for him outside. It took his ex-boss all about ten seconds to spot him and walk straight to him. He couldn’t look more ‘I am having a secret meeting in this bar’ even if he tried. 

   
 

“Hello, Frank. It’s good to see you in person.” 

   
 

“Yeah, yeah. You sure you weren’t followed ?” 

   
 

Sarif smiled nervously, realising the decker was probably very serious about all this business. “Well, I’m not an expert but I don’t think anyone was after me.” 

   
 

“Well if someone did we’ll know soon enough,” sighed the raven-haired man as he took a long sip of his drink. “If you want to order something go ahead.” 

   
 

“I’ll be fine, Frank but… thanks for the offer.” 

   
 

There probably wasn’t a thing up to Sarif’s standards here anyway. The older man was checking his surroundings nervously and Pritchard just knew he hadn’t truly realised he could have been followed on his way here. The decker wanted to roll his eyes but held back, after all his previous boss didn’t even have a proper security team before Jensen, he couldn’t expect him to have the same paranoia as an experimented shadowrunner. Frank picked up his phone and sent Voiceless the signal. It probably wasn’t needed, she must have spotted Sarif from a mile away. 

   
 

“So, Frank. How’s uh… your new job working out for you ?” 

   
 

The decker looked away from his phone and slipped it inside his pocket. “It’s going fine so far. I have a good team, we look out for each other.” 

   
 

“Are they the people you worked with before ?” asked the older man. If Pritchard didn’t know him that well he would have missed the pinch of nervousness in his tone. 

   
 

“No,” answered the decker before taking a gulp of his beer. “I don’t want to work with these people again.” 

   
 

“Good, good. They weren’t right for you anyway.” 

   
 

_You don’t know them._ Pritchard wanted to say, but the man wasn’t wrong. His previous accomplices had gotten him arrested in the first place and were probably furious when he took the easy way out by making this deal with Sarif. 

   
 

“So who are your new coworkers ? You mentioned they were old friends but do I know them ?” 

   
 

The corner of the decker’s mouth went slightly upwards but was promptly hidden by his glass of beer. “You know one of them. The others I haven’t mentioned before.” Honestly Pritchard didn’t know if Malik would be happy to see their old boss or if she would avoid him, better not sell her out if she didn’t want to cross paths with Sarif. 

   
 

“I see. Well it’s good to know you are in good hands at least, Frank.” 

   
 

Pritchard hummed, finishing his beer with a long swing, time to hit the road. He didn’t really want to deal with the small talk any longer. “Alright, let’s go.” 

   
 

The decker left the money on the table and the two men got up and swiftly exited the pub. Pritchard felt slightly tipsy but it wouldn’t really matter, not with Voiceless watching their backs. He went through his pockets and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it in front of the pub as Sarif gave him a long disapproving look. Not like he cared, his old-boss wouldn’t be the first one to tell him that smoke kills. He lead the way through the streets of Detroit, the older man on his heels. Even if the decker wasn’t looking in his general direction he could feel Sarif looking left and right nervously. Couldn’t be more suspicious. 

   
 

Sometimes Pritchard would catch a glimpse of Voiceless tailing them, the elf clad in a black motorcycle jacket and thick jeans. Shadows slowly wrapped around them as the streets grew more and more decrepit. Ragged people throwing glances at them, making sure they knew they didn’t belong. 

   
 

“Say, Frank. You sure we’re going in the right direction ? Is your HQ really hidden in this area ?” 

   
 

“We’re not going to the HQ. We’re going to our VTOL then we’ll fly to our base. To make sure it’s safe.” 

   
 

The older man nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets and tagging closer to the decker. Pritchard led him to an old abandoned tattoo shop, pushing the half broken door with his foot to get inside. The place was dusty and anything that could have been looted had been torn from the walls which were now missing entire sections. Sarif carefully stepped inside, shoulders squared and taking deep breaths despite how thick the air was, on edge. The two men sneaked quietly in the darkness only interrupted by the light of the decker’s phone until they finally reached the inner courtyard where the VTOL was parked. 

   
 

Sarif let out a long sigh, the sight of the vehicle, giving him some illusion of safety. The door opened and they both jumped in, however the door did not close behind them right away. 

   
 

“Frank ? Are we not going ?” 

   
 

“We’re waiting for one of my teammates. She won’t be long.” 

   
 

And he didn’t lie. After a few short minutes of waiting the elf climbed inside and sat next to Pritchard in complete silence. The door closed and the VTOL’s engine purred. Sarif gave the newcomer a polite smile. 

   
 

“Nice to meet you ! I’m David, you must one of Frank’s friends.” 

   
 

“Voiceless,” answered the elf coldly. “You will also meet Black Wolf and Dusty. We would rather not have you wandering our HQ alone, I hope you understand.” Ah, Domitius’ shadow name. Sarif really was on the watchlist of the crew. 

   
 

“Yes… of course...” 

   
 

The VTOL trembled and took off, carrying them to their base. The older man was uncharacteristically quiet, holding his messenger bag on his knees, Pritchard almost felt bad for him. Almost. It wasn’t long until they landed and the door opened once again. The two deckers were the first to exit, then their ‘guest’. Sarif looked around and immediately recognised the place. 

   
 

“Is this… Yes, I’m certain this was our third site. I didn’t know you had moved there.” whispered the older man turning his head to face his ex-employee. 

   
 

Pritchard shrugged. “It was secure enough, could hide the VTOL, and we managed to reroute some of the underground subway station’s power here to keep us powered. It was a good spot.” 

   
 

Sarif nodded. “I understand better why you didn’t walk me here. But I don’t think all those precautions are necessary.” 

   
 

“It was that or nothing.” 

   
 

Malik didn’t come out of the piloting booth, seems like she wasn’t ready to see her old boss. Domitius was waiting on the other side of the helipad, unlike Voiceless his attitude was rather relaxed, shoulders low, hands in his pockets, head slightly tilted to the side as he watched the trio walk toward him. He nodded politely at Sarif and introduced himself using his shadow name. The older man smiled, relieved, and greeted the giant. After all the taller man had no reason to have beef with his teammate’s old boss and was probably only hiding his true name because Voiceless asked him to. They were pretty bad shadowrunners for barely hiding their identities. After all some runners even stopped all together from using their real names to the point they could forget them entirely. The elf was one of those. And she was no doubt the most professional of their group. 

   
 

The group made their way to Pritchard’s room. It felt weird to see all the doors closed except for his, and also the fact that his boss would get inside his private space. It really irked him the wrong way. Domitius and Voiceless didn’t join them inside, instead leaning against the wall next to the door to give them some space… or act like bouncers shall Sarif behave in a way that didn’t suit them. Dusty was back by Jensen’s side, waving happily at them when they entered. 

   
 

“Hello, children ! I hope your trip went fine ! You must be David Sarif, I read your article about augmentations. Quite fascinating actually !” chirped the pooka. 

   
 

Pritchard noticed how Sarif glowed with pride at the positive mention of his article. “Ah, yes ! I’m always glad to meet another enhancement enthusiast, such a shame most people don’t seem to see it the way you do.” 

   
 

The decker gritted his teeth, this was turning into yet another augmentation debate and this was not the reason why he had brought the man in their safe place. Thankfully both of them seemed to go back on track promptly when Sarif caught a glimpse of Jensen’s face on the bed. 

   
 

“Oh, God, son. What happened to you ?” whispered the older man taking a step closer. 

   
 

“A year in a coma,” explained Dusty hopping to his side. “And various deficiencies over the course of his rest. I made sure he would go back to normal levels but I can’t do much about his fat and muscle stocks sadly.” 

   
 

“Yes, yes, I understand… Damn, son,” Sarif walked closer, taking a look at the TPN pocket dripping inside Jensen’s bloodstream before he turned back to the pooka. “May I see his blood test results ? Frank mentioned there was a problem with his essence.” 

   
 

“Yes, of course !” nodded Dusty, pulling out two sheets of papers from a case file on the bedside table. One of them was crumpled and Pritchard recognised it as the one he had seen earlier. “This one is before I gave him a blood transfusion and complements, and the second one is after. As you can see his essence is definitely thin on the ground !” 

   
 

Sarif took the sheets of papers and gave them a long hard look. “That’s coherent. Would you allow me to get a blood sample of my own to double check the results ?” 

   
 

“I knew you would ask. I already have the material ready.” 

   
 

“Oh, don’t waste your resources, I took something on my own.” answered Sarif pulling out a set from his messenger bag. 

   
 

Pritchard tensed as Sarif sat on the bed where he had a few days ago and started looking for a vein in Jensen’s neck. It felt so wrong. Intrusive. He knew it could be useful if they had better data for Jensen’s blood sample but the decker felt himself overcoming with a strong need to protect the unconscious man from all this probing and testing. Especially Sarif’s. The older man quickly finished his procedure, tossed the needle in the yellow box Dusty had left on the bedside table and shoved the vial of blood inside his bag. 

   
 

“I will get this tested as soon as possible. Until then is there a place where we could discuss calmly ?” 

   
 

“Well, we can go to the living room ?” suggested the pooka. “I suppose it’s better if all the crew is there to hear what you have to say.” 

   
 

Sarif nodded and allowed Dusty to take the lead. Voiceless and Domitius tagged along. Pritchard was nervous as hell, worried of what his old-boss would tell them, of the secrets he might have kept from him. He despised being kept away from the Truth and his ex-boss did have the tendency to tell only about what he deemed necessary.  

   
 

The group reached the large room near the cafeteria, which has once been planned to be a reunion room, but instead of a large table and chairs the place had been fitted with a couch (on which Pritchard was occasionally sleeping now), a few mismatched seats, a coffee table, and a large TV had been pinned to the wall. Most of them had been ‘found’ by Dusty, the rest had been looted from the trash after some home stores had declared bankruptcy before they could get rid of their stocks. Sarif sat on one of the seats, imitated by Pritchard, Dusty sat on the couch’s armrest next to Voiceless and Domitius remained standing behind them. 

   
 

“Before we start we have to wait for the last member of our crew. I believe she will want to hear you, mister Sarif.” noted Voiceless. 

   
 

“There is someone I haven’t met yet ? Is this the person you told me about, Frank ?” 

   
 

“It probably is,” said Malik showing up at the door. “Hey, David. How are you doing ?” 

   
 

“Faridah ! You haven’t changed !” cheered the older man getting up from his seat to greet the pilot. “I didn’t expect you here ! How are you holding up ?” 

   
 

“I’m fine, I’m fine...” Pritchard almost heard her slip a ‘boss’ in her sentence before she held back. “Concerned about Jensen but I guess everyone here is.” 

   
 

“Yes… Damn shame.” 

   
 

“About that, children !” interrupted Dusty clapping their hands. “It’s time you tell us about what you can do for sleeping beauty.” 

   
 

“Yes, right,” said Sarif as he returned to his seat, imitated by Malik who went to settle next to Voiceless on the couch. “Well, for starters I’m really confused about this essence thing. I know you don’t believe me but that’s why I’m going to check on my own to make sure I wasn’t lied to. When Adam was in our care I really insisted to have him keep at least enough for him to potentially cast spells if he discovered some magic potential in himself. I told you that, Frank.” 

   
 

“Yeah… I remember.” 

   
 

“Alright. So, back then I’m quite sure he was fine, he woke up on his own once we were done with the procedure but it didn’t take as long as it does now. So after the call with Frank I asked around to see if I could find some way to help.” 

   
 

“And ?” asked the pooka tilting their head to the side. 

   
 

“I heard about a new procedure. By DocWagon. Which they use specifically to reanimate people with very low essence count. It’s still more or less experimental so they don’t go around screaming it on the roofs and with the Incident behind us I think it will stay in the dark for a while.” 

   
 

“And do you think you could get your hands on this ?” asked Pritchard, feeling the muscles of his back tense anxiously. 

   
 

“I doubt I could. Not any more. Just to get that info I had to pull some strings. But there might be a way.” 

   
 

“I’m not good with suspense, tell us already.” pressed Voiceless now listening intently to Sarif. 

   
 

“Well… I heard that since Detroit has a large population of augmented people they were going on with the tests here. Exchanging neuropozyne for test subjects.” 

   
 

“What ?! That’s horrible !” gasped Malik, were people truly that desperate ? To the point of selling themselves to get their medicine ? 

   
 

“I know, that’s why they’re keeping quiet about that.” 

   
 

“What are they doing exactly, child ?” 

   
 

Sarif scratched his ear, disturbed by the fact someone who looked as youthful as Dusty was referring to him as a ‘child’. “Well, they put them in a state of clinical death and reanimate them to ensure the efficiency of their method.” 

   
 

“And I’m guessing not everyone comes out alive.” 

   
 

“Well, from that I can only guess. All I was told was about that experiment, not its results.” 

   
 

Voiceless hummed. “I suppose it’s worth a shot…” 

   
 

“What ?! We don’t even know the fatality percent ! For all we know it could all be an elaborate plot to kill augs !” protested Pritchard. 

   
 

“Well, it’s our best shot. And you heard your ex-boss. The trials are on people who are probably in the middle of neuropozyne withdrawal, in a bad health, and are put in clinical death, your friend is relatively healthy and just in a coma. For all we know this procedure is efficient on comatose people.” 

   
 

Pritchard huffed, the elf wasn’t wrong. They didn’t exactly have much choice. “Alright. How do we proceed then.” 

   
 

“Let’s consider this a run. If we steal whatever data DocWagon is hiding we may be able to pay ourselves by selling it to the highest bidder on the Shadowland BBS. Do we know where they are conducting their experiments ?” 

   
 

“Probably not in their own clinics, child. Too much traffic there and too much lawful medical personnel, someone would have caught up something wasn’t right.” 

   
 

“True, so a black site. Where it wouldn’t be odd for desperate augs to show up and never return.” 

   
 

“I’ve heard that DocWagon is trying to rehabilitate some LIMB clinics, maybe they do their business here ?” added Sarif, leaning closer with his elbows on his knees. 

   
 

“I can check which one have been active lately.” intervened Pritchard. 

   
 

“Then do it. And pull everything you can find about the layout and security.” added the elf with a commanding nod. 

   
 

“You don’t need to remind me...” grumbled the decker offended by the very suggestion he wouldn’t do it automatically. 

   
 

“Fine, now that we have a lead on where we need to know what. Do you know what this procedure implies ? A new drug ? Magic ?” 

   
 

Sarif shook his head. “No, it didn’t seem like it. If I had to guess I'd say it’s more of a treatment using shocks, if I understood well it was about ‘rebooting’ the entire nervous system so it would start again.” 

   
 

“So it must be a machine. Since we can’t estimate the size we have to expect something heavy. We’re counting on you, Domi !” chirped Dusty. 

   
 

Voiceless sighed and put her head between her hands. “Dusty, we said shadow names…” 

   
 

“Did we ? Oops ! My bad !” 

   
 

“It’s fine. I won’t tell anyone.” assured Sarif with a calming smile. 

   
 

“It’s not just about that. It’s also about professionalism.” 

   
 

“It’s not like he didn’t already knew about my name and Malik’s.” noted Pritchard with a raised eyebrow. 

   
 

“Whatever. We have leads to follow for now. I suggest we take mister Sarif back to his house and prepare for that run.” 

   
 

“Thank you for allowing me see Adam. Please keep me updated on his status.” 

   
 

“If you want updates you can contact Snake. And you don’t need us to tell you that this place must remain a secret.” 

   
 

“That goes without saying.” said Sarif as he rose up to his feet, Malik did the same as well. “I hope to hear from you soon, Frank.” 

   
 

The decker nodded and his ex-boss was escorted out of the room by Domitius and the pilot. 

   
 

“Well, now that you got what you wanted I suggest we get to work.” 


	5. The Dive

_> >>>>[It’s the fucking big deal ! It’s the End of the World ! The End of Free Will as we know it ! And it’s already en route ! We can’t stop it now !]<<<<<_ 

 _-The Oracle_  

   
 

 _> >>>>[For Fuck’s sake, stop stuffing you with Psyche !]<<<<<_ 

 _-Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

 _> >>>>[I’m clean ! I’m clean ! Haven’t touched the stuff since last time ! Listen, man, what I found about this Nanite thing ? This is god-fucking-awful ! I think I’m going crazy ! I can barely sleep ! I think they’re on me ! I don’t Think ! I Know ! They’re spying me with their Little Eyes ! Soon I’ll Fall as well ! I’m Dead ! I’m Dead already !]<<<<<_ 

 _-The Oracle_  

   
 

 _> >>>>[Goodie ! Calm down ! What on Earth are you ranting about ?]<<<<<_ 

 _-Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

 _> >>>>[The Nanites ! It’s all about the Nanites ! I can’t tell you about it ! I already said too much ! If you look for it they will target you as well ! Stay away from That ! I’ll take one last Dive. If I’m not back in three days consider I’m dead and move on.]<<<<<_ 

 _-The Oracle_  

   
 

 _> >>>>[Oracle, what are you talking about ? What the Hell is going on ?]<<<<<_ 

 _-Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

 _> >>>>[Oracle ?]<<<<<_ 

 _-Nucl3arSnake_  

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

Voiceless was stalking the entrance of the LIMB clinic, smoking a cigarette in the cold. The elf was wrapped in the shadows of the narrow alley she was spying from. If the data they had collected was right then this LIMB clinic was the one DocWagon had used for their experiments. Pritchard had found that the power had returned and showed regular activity, usually in the evening. Efficient as always the decker had also found the floor plan and the security measures that had been put in place when the clinic had been built. He had found no evidence of additional implement since the Incident, probably because doing some work around would have attracted the attention. 

   
 

Since Snake’s old boss had left they had been combing Detroit to find a lead. Plenty of missing augmented people had been reported, but since the Incident augs tended to disappear like ghosts every day, hard to tell which one they should worry about. Sarif had also sent a message to confirm what Dusty had told them. Adam’s essence count was too low. This confirmation meant two things, the first one was that Pritchard and Malik’s ex-boss didn’t lie to them and the second one was that something had been done to the comatose man while he was out. And they had no idea what. The main hypothesis was that a vampire or the like had used the coma patients to feed and Adam had been picked up. Dusty was looking to confirm that by testing him for HMHVV. The other one, and probably the most annoying one, was that someone added augs inside the man’s system. Sarif had offered to check on the augs himself and that was probably the best thing to do before waking him up. Who knew what kind of things they would find and how Adam’s body to react to them ? For all they knew he could be a ticking bomb. 

   
 

A ragged man came to view, dragging a now dead mechanical leg behind him. Voiceless pressed herself against the alley wall, making sure she would remain out of sight. The human looked around, hugging his sides to repress his shivers, his clothing too thin to protect him from the cold season. After inspecting his surroundings he carefully limped toward the LIMB clinic and pushed the shattered door. Third person today to cross the doors, and since this morning no one came out. The elf watched him go, taking a long drag from her cigarette before crushing it against the sole of her boot and putting the butt inside a match box in her pocket.  

   
 

She waited a few minutes then walked out of the alley. Her cranial augs gleamed in the lazy winter light as she trotted toward the door. The entrance of the clinic looked like any other one’s. Broken, dirty, lifeless. She walked carefully on the shards of glass, slipping in the darkness. On the floor a pathway seemed to have emerged from the comings and goings happening around, leading to an ajar service door. She crouched down and silently creeped closer, mindful of her steps. Her thermal vision in her left eye activated she took a peak through the opening. The place had been cleaned up and a faint light brightened the hallway. She pushed the door open a little more and slid her head inside. The glass doors had been fixed, allowing her to catch a glimpse of a few people laying on hospital beds, most of them seemed unconscious, monitors displaying their vitals by their sides. No doctors in sight but this place looked nothing like a squat. No tags on the walls, no scent of drugs in the air, no trash littering the ground, and everyone seemed to have their own spot. 

   
 

She considered walking deeper inside the hallway but one of the metahumans stirred and opened her glassy augmented eyes. Or what was left of them. One of her sockets was left empty, a deep black hole left unfilled, sending a quiver down her spine. Her mouth opened, revealing broken teeth forming a mess of white shards as the husk pointed a long, bony finger at the elf. A low and distorted attempt at a scream bawled out of the throat and Voiceless knew she had to get out of here. 

   
 

Now she was certain she had found the place they had been looking for. She promptly pulled herself out and bolted back to the door. She didn’t bother to cover her tracks or close the door behind her. The elf engulfed herself in the crooked alleys to make sure no one would attempt to tail her. She activated her infolink in the middle of her escape, sending out the message. 

   
 

“Snake. I’ve found the place. Get ready now, time for some action.” 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

The crew was all set and waiting when Voiceless returned to their base. Pritchard was biting his thumb again before Dusty gently slapped the hand out of his mouth. Malik was there too, arms crossed, worry painted over her face. She had not been wearing her flight suit, no like they could use her skills on that one. They had no room for the VTOL on this run, they would have to find their way using either the streets or the sewers this time around. 

   
 

“You sure I can’t do something ? I could be hidden with the VTOL not far and-” 

   
 

“It’s fine, child. We need someone to keep an eye on Adam while we’re out. I doubt anything will happen while we’re out but at least he will be safe.” 

   
 

“Yeah… I understand. I’ll do my best.” sighed the pilot reluctantly. 

   
 

Voiceless walked past them, greeting them with a nod of her head until Pritchard cut her path. “Wait, Voiceless. You’re sure you’ve found the right place ? We’ll find what we’re looking for there ?” 

   
 

The elf gauged him calmly. Dusty had convinced him to get some actual sleep while Voiceless went to stalk the clinic. The bag under his eyes were still noticeable and the man’s ponytail was a mess but at least his hands had stopped trembling from the stress and overuse of caffeine. “I can’t tell we’ll find what we’re looking for since I only saw a part of the clinic. What I can tell is that someone rehabilitated the place and made sure it would be concealed. I also saw augs walking inside and so far no one came out.” 

   
 

“Alright, sounds good.” 

   
 

Voiceless could understand the decker’s stress, Pritchard had never really stood as the type to get overly worried about other people. At least in appearance. The man did care a lot and was more loyal than some gave him to be. Still the level of worry he felt for Adam was rather worring. The elf truly hoped they could find a solution to this coma problem soon enough, she did not want to see such a brilliant decker fall apart so easily. 

   
 

“Snake, listen. Once this run is done I want you to take a break, okay ?” 

   
 

“I’m _fine_ , Voiceless. I don’t need a babysitter.” hissed the raven-haired man. 

   
 

“Snake, I’m serious. You’ve barely slept since we brought him here. And it’s not like you were a heavy sleeper before.” 

   
 

“I’ll manage. My sleep schedule is none of your concern.” 

   
 

Voiceless sighed. Could the man be at least less thick-headed ? “We’ll talk again later. I’ll get ready then we go.” 

   
 

Pritchard huffed but moved to the side regardless, allowing the elf to walk forward. They had their eyes on the prize. And tonight they strike. 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

Domitius lifted Dusty on his shoulders so the pooka could reach the emergency ladder and drop it down for them. The rusty metal gave up with a grating complaint. Voiceless took the lead while Dusty slid off the giant’s shoulders. Pritchard went second then the sibling duo closed the ascension. The elf slid her hand along a narrow cornice, it seemed clear of ice, it was wet but it should be safe enough. The group could try to use it to make their way toward the large billboard that covered some of the clinic’s windows. She carefully moved her foot along the edge, her back rubbing against the brick wall. 

   
 

Pritchard kept his hand out for her but the elf didn’t need it, shuffling carefully until she could secure herself on the deck hidden behind the billboard. She let out a controlled breath and shoot out her hand for the next one. Frank swallowed audibly and started his cautious scaling. He now regretted not taking Voiceless seriously about his lack of sleep, the numbness that came with it made him shiver despite his best attempts to keep it under control. His boot slipped off the damp stone, his heart skipped a beat as he tried to grab something with his nails, a large hand shoot and slapped him back against the wall. The decker was clinging to the arm, breathing heavily both from the adrenaline and the chock of being clapped in the diaphragm. 

   
 

Domitius kept him stable, one hand gripping one of the stair’s metallic support beam and the other pressed against the decker. Dusty was also holding the giant by the hem of his jacket, preventing him from losing his balance. Pritchard made eye contact with the golden irises, he hadn’t shown a single shred of hesitation before potentially throwing himself over the edge to keep the decker from falling. Frank readjusted himself on the cornice and gave the giant a grateful nod. The palm came off his stomach, allowing him to resume his progression. Pritchard forced himself along the wall until he could clumsily reach Voiceless’ hand and be pulled on the deck. The elf pushed him aside and shoot out her hand for the next one. The raven-haired man realised he was trembling all over and not from the cold. He cursed under his breath and rubbed his shaking arms. He could do better than that, what the hell was he thinking ? 

   
 

Dusty hopped on the edge easily and joined the duo of deckers. Domitius struggled but managed to keep his cool and balance, his weight making the deck tremble when he jumped off the cornice and landed heavily next to them. Pritchard instinctively grabbed a nearby pole until the platform stopped shaking. Voiceless gave out the signal and they all sneaked silently toward one of the windows. The lights weren’t on inside and what had once been a recovery therapy room had been stripped bare of most of its equipment. Voiceless shattered the glass with her augmented hand and slid the window open. 

   
 

The team carefully explored the upper floor, if the rooms graced with windows were empty, the others and the hallway had been cleaned and lit up. Voiceless noted that the symbol of DocWagon was nowhere in sight, not a surprise since what they were doing was not exactly legal. The occupied upper rooms seemed to be mostly storage, large amount of neuropozyne, medicine, and other sedatives, Voiceless noticed Dusty snatch some of them and shove them inside their pockets. The elf rolled her eyes but didn’t stop them, after all these people were up to no good. They didn’t find whatever device DocWagon must have been using, those were probably in the intervention rooms where they conducted the experiments. 

   
 

They hid in a storeroom while Dusty went to scout ahead by crawling inside the vents, all sitting back against one of the shelves. Pritchard eyed the neuropozyne. It was tempting to just slip a vial or two inside one of his pocket. It’s not like they would even notice it. And the drug was becoming harder to come by every day. Minutes ticked by and Voiceless sighed loudly, grabbing a handful of neuropozyne and stuffing it inside her jacket, the other decker shrugged and imitated her, taking that as permission. 

   
 

“Do you want me to take some as well ?” asked Domitius in a low whisper. 

   
 

Both of the deckers gave him a falsely confused look. Take what ? They hadn’t stolen a thing ? The giant rolled his eyes and nabbed a bunch of it and filled the exterior pocket of the large bag he had picked to carry whatever they would find here. Hopefully it would fit the sack and they would be able to make a run out of here. 

   
 

Dusty finally returned, their hair covered in filth from their exploration but not even slightly bothered about it. “Ok, so. I think I know where the machines are, problem is, it’s in the basement. Seems like there’s not a lot of guards around, mostly docs. They make the patients sleep before taking them downstairs by using the elevator, if we want to snatch some data before we go it’s probably in the doctors’ offices.” 

   
 

“The machine is our priority. Do you know how we can access the basement floor ?” 

   
 

“I haven’t seen a staircase leading there, I guess there’s only the elevator and maybe the vents, but Domi can’t make it through the vents.” 

   
 

“I know, I know. Maybe we can get inside the elevator shaft to make our descend ?” hummed Voiceless. 

   
 

“Can do, but that will make noise.” noted the giant pointing at his metallic leg, the landing would definitely tip off whomever could be inside. 

   
 

“Then Dusty goes first, makes sure the elevator is empty, then we join. How’s that ?” offered Pritchard. After the all the pooka was the lightest of the group and would be able to land without araising too much suspicion. 

   
 

“Good idea,” agreed the elf. “What about the data ? Do we try to make a run for the doctors’ offices beforehand ?” 

   
 

“Well, a run I don’t know but this shaft leads to one of those. One of you could try hacking the computer, return here while the others check if there’s a way to pry the elevator doors open from this floor ?” suggested Dusty casually snatching another vial of some random medicine. 

   
 

“Alright, good. You or me, Snake ?” asked the elf. 

   
 

Pritchard barely gave himself a second to think, he did not like waiting around and didn’t want to be on the team ‘brute force needed to open elevator doors’. “I’ll hack.” 

   
 

“Alright, good luck in the air-ducts, child !” chirped the pooka with a slightly mocking wave. 

   
 

Fuck. He had forgotten about the vents. He groaned loudly, which made Voiceless raise an eyebrow. “Want to reconsider your choice, Snake ?” 

   
 

“No ! I’m fine, thank you ! I can handle some crawling around.” but his pride would still be wounded. God he hated field work. 

   
 

The rest of his crew got up and left, leaving him alone in front of the insulting shaft. He sighed deeply, Jensen must be laughing his ass out from his coma. He rolled his shoulders and got on his four. Of course the opening was too small for him to be comfortable like this and he had to lay belly first in the dirt. He was not turning back. He was not turning back. He was not turning back. He turned on the little lamplight on his shoulder and pushed himself up on his elbows. He started dragging himself inside. How could Jensen do that all the time ? In that expensive coat of his on top of that. The air-duct took a 90 degrees turn, forcing the decker to twist himself uncomfortably as his cyberdeck dug into his back. He should have left it behind before going to play the contortionist. The path in front of him went downward, at least this would make his progression easier, he just had to let himself slide and- 

   
 

The runner lost control of his decent, gliding on the smooth metal too fast until his ride was stopped by the shock of his forearms against the end of the shaft, making a loud reverberating noise. Pritchard cursed. His arms pulsed with pain as he slowly unwind them, another turn to his left as sharp as the previous one. He let his head fall on his hands, already regretting his decision to go through the vents. How could the others not mind it ? He bent himself again to make it through. In the distance he could see a faint light reflecting on the end of the straight line. Another turn or-… oh no. The air-duct plunged straight down, about a meter of plunging. Couldn’t Dusty have warned him about that ?! He sure was going to give the pooka a piece of his mind once he was back with his crew. He crawled up to the hole and tried to stretch his arm to reach the floor but to no avail, there was still a short distance between the floor and his hands. 

   
 

The decker groaned again, letting his arms hang pitifully in the void. He had to do it, it wasn’t a big descent, he would land on his palms then slid himself down slowly. He took in a deep breath and put his plan in action. Which of course didn’t happen the way he wanted. He did land on his palms but his own weight was too much on his untrained arms which bent under the pressure, making him fall head first with a humiliating ‘bong’. Pritchard remained still for a few seconds, doing a headstand, stuck in this ridiculous position. Secretly very glad no one was seeing his demise. This was all Jensen’s fault. If not for him he wouldn’t be there. He wiggled desperately until he managed to slip down and shuffle his long body into the lower vent. And finally, in front of him, the Light. 

   
 

Fueled by renewed hope he crawled toward the opening until he had his face close to it. He looked through the grate, he could see the desk in front of him, no one in the seat, and not a sound coming from inside. Thank fuck it was, otherwise someone might have heard the noise from his misadventures in the air shaft. He pushed the vent open and slithered free. He got up to his feet and stretched his back then dusted the front of his jacket. Despite the pooka’s previous round trip the vents were still quite dirty. He looked around briefly, the place was rather small, an uninteresting painting on the right wall, a shelf with books about enhancements and medicine on the other, and the computer lit on the desk. The decker’s eyes went straight to the prize, leaning above the desk to start typing on the keyboard. 

   
 

Pritchard had hoped better coming from DocWagon. They must have decent security deckers in their team but the firewalls on this computer was a joke. Guess they didn’t have that much resources to pour in some black-ops project. The computer gave up with a pleasing beep and the screen displayed the files. It seemed to be videos about the procedure mostly. Each patient had their file with three videos. How the patient was put in clinical death, then another would display how the machine (which apparently had been called ‘a system reanimator’) was set up, and the last one would display the results. The methods to kill the patients were various and ‘creative’, Pritchard had to look away when the first two vids displayed someone being gored to death while strapped to a table and then they would inject some awful poison in the second one’s bloodstream which would make them struggle against the restraints while their mouth opened wordlessly on the muted screen. The second ones seemed to be pretty much all of the same but Pritchard downloaded them regardless, this might be of use for Dusty. Then the third showed whether or not the patients would open their eyes once they had been put under the system reanimator. Pritchard wondered if it was tested on the drowning patients or on someone killed by hypothermia, he was tempted to dig it up just to see if their eyes would flutter open but he didn’t have much time. 

   
 

The machine seemed to be smaller than expected. Basically a big helmet. He was in the middle of his download of all these videos when the doorknob rattled. The decker cursed and bolted under the desk, grabbing his stun gun. Please may it be someone looking for the doctor who would turn away once they would see he wasn’t here. Please, please, please, please. The door opened and closed as a whistling man stepped inside. _Fuck_. The man walked to the right wall and took down the painting, and started fiddling with something on the wall. Pritchard tried to catch his breath before he risked a peek from under the desk, his stun gun fitting oddly in his clammy hand. 

   
 

The man was opening an old fashioned safe with a combination lock. The guy must be the doctor, he had the matching white blouse and general attitude. He fished something from inside then his eyes seemed to catch something dangerously close to the decker, the open vent. Pritchard slammed himself back under the desk, the man stepped closer to the opening and closed it but then he turned around again and- 

   
 

“Why is my computer downloading something ?” 

   
 

 _Fuck_. The decker aimed his stun gun blindly at the man’s upper thigh and fired a shot, hoping he would not scream. The doctor let out a strangled ‘Beurgh’ and slumped head first on the desk. Pritchard raised his hands in front of his face, his stun gun clattering on the top of the desk. He opened his eyes and saw that the man was laying on top of the piece of furniture. He pushed the limp legs away with the muzzle of his gun and got out of his hideout. The safe was still wide open on the wall but the unconscious man was the priority. He grabbed the body by the shoulders and pulled him down, almost falling when the weight dragged him along. Maybe he should reconsider Domitius’ offer to train him up. But the other half of his brain would rather die than work out. Back to his duty he rolled the man under his own desk, curling him up messily so no one would notice him unless they looked for him, then went straight to the safe. 

   
 

Inside laid several case files, Pritchard took them all out. A pocket secretary, taking that too. Some credits, well, no point leaving them there. He pocketed the whole lot and closed the safe, turning randomly the combination lock. He didn’t care, he didn’t have the time, he slapped the painting back on the wall and ran to the computer to get his flashdrive back then straight to the vent, sliding it back open and engulfing himself inside, struggling to get it close before going too far into the air-duct. The stress from his encounter with the office occupant leaving him pumped with adrenaline. 

   
 

The way back felt much smoother, maybe because he was only focused on getting back to his team and get the fuck away from there before shit went down. He heaved himself back to the upper floor and started looking for the rest of the crew. The decker was struggling to walk properly, his legs weakened by his little trip. He stumbled in the hallway, looking to the left, his ear out for any sound.  

   
 

“Back already, child ?” 

   
 

Pritchard jolted and turned around with his stun gun in his hands. Dusty tilted their horned head and slowly pushed the muzzle away with a finger. “You shouldn’t be this jumpy, child. It’s bad for your heart.” 

   
 

The decker cursed and holstered the weapon. “ _You’re_ bad for my heart ! Couldn’t you warn me about the air-duct ?!” hissed the raven-haired man under his breath. 

   
 

The pooka raised an eyebrow. “About what ? They were pretty common air-ducts. And you would know that if you decided to get in there more often. Anyway. We finished forcing the elevator doors open. What did you find ?” 

   
 

“Videos of them butchering people to test their machine. And a few files inside a safe but I didn’t have the time to look at them. Someone got in while I was downloading the vids.” 

   
 

“Gee, sounds bad. What did you do ?” 

   
 

“I shot him with my stun gun ! What did you wanted me to do ?!” 

   
 

“Easy, child. As long as the alarms aren’t blaring we’re doing well. We’ll take a look at what you found once we’re back at the base. Let’s go.” said the pooka pointing the direction to the elevator with their thumb. 

   
 

“Yeah. Let’s get this done quickly.” 

   
 

The two of them trotted back to Voiceless and Domitius, the two of them were sitting on the edge of the elevator shaft, the door held open by a sturdy piece of wood which must have been used for some exercise in recovery therapy. 

   
 

“Ah, You’re back. How did it go ?” greeted Voiceless. 

   
 

“Awful. Someone saw me and I had to hide him under the desk. But I got everything I could pull out of the office. Now, how do you plan to get us down there ?” 

   
 

The elf hummed and looked down. They needed a way to go down without crashing miserably two floors lower. They didn’t have an Icarus landing and even if they did it wouldn’t be very discreet, of course Dusty could turn into a crow and fly down there but the rest of the crew had to go down the old fashioned way. Zipping down the cables was a terrible idea since they would burn and rip their hands off, they had to find another way. 

   
 

“Hmmm… I think I could hack the elevator commands to make it go a floor up, then we hop on and lower it back down.” 

   
 

Domitius nodded, approving of the idea. Pritchard shrugged. “Why not, but I’m not sure it’s very discreet to have an elevator going up and down on its own.” 

   
 

“You would rather wait for someone to call it up then down on their own when there is someone unconscious that could get spotted at any moment ?” threw back the elf. The decker winced. Fair point. She got up on her feet and jacked herself in the matrix access point next to the elevator. 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

She walked in the cyber space. Free from her body, free from the world. It felt like coming home. The Matrix here seemed to be rather passive but heavily watched, she could feel the spark signature of the too numerous watchers patrolling in the server. The watchers were turning around in their usual patterns, the nodes protected by towering blockers. The decker took a moment to memorise the rhythm of the watchers’ dance and stepped in. She let herself be guided by the tempo, slipping carefully under their cones of vision, reaching the first node with practised ease. 

   
 

She connected herself to the blocker, the code flashed in front of her eyes and she sank in. The loopholes appeared with lucid clarity, her fingers poked at them, unravelling the blocker like a pile of knotted up yarn. The blocker gave up under her touch and the first node stood before her. She plunged her hand inside, connecting herself to the information flooding it. Camera feed. Watching the patients and hallways of the basement. An orc pushing a bed covered in a green sheet down a corridor, disappearing into a room she had no access to. She floated through the underground, looking for the dark places. She spotted three. The room where the man with the bed had gone, and two other next to each others. Must be the operating blocks. 

   
 

She pulled herself out. This was something. But not what she was looking for. She downloaded a program into the node and froze the camera feed in a loop of empty hallways. By the time whomever was watching this understood what happened and fixed it they would be long gone. 

   
 

She stepped away from the node, resuming her dance through the watchers. She reached another node protected by yet another blocker. She repeated her deciphering until she got to the second node. _Open sewer access Y\N_. This could give them a good way out, she opened the sewer access. She could try to find where the sewer access was once she was out of the Matrix. She sneaked to the third node, growing tired of all those watchers hindering her progress. She barely slipped out of a watcher’s range when she reached the blocker. She was tempted to force her way through but couldn’t tell if she would need to jack in again later and forced herself to undo the blocker’s security protocols. Once she was done she dived into the third node. Elevator controls. Finally. She took a hold of them and transferred the command to her cyberdeck and jacked out. 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

The first breath was always the worst. Always too hot or too cold. Burning her lungs as she infiltrated her body back. She adjusted herself on her heels and nodded at her team. They all regrouped around the elevator door as she entered the order into her cyberdeck. The elevator hissed as it was lifted up. As they had convened Dusty hopped on first to take a look inside. They discreetly slid the emergency panel open just a crack and peeked inside, their tail wiping the air. They sat up and gave the all clear with a large grin. Pritchard slipped down the shaft first, holding himself to the steel cables. Then Domitius followed, simply dangling himself from the edge until his feet found the top of the elevator below. Voiceless waited for Domi to be down so he could help her down. 

   
 

All four of them got ready on top of the machine then Voiceless pushed the button, taking them all to the underground. The lift stopped with a shake, the pooka pushed the emergency panel open and stuck their head through the opening. 

   
 

“No one in sight, we can go down.” they signalled before leaping through the opening themselves. The crew followed, Domitius helped Pritchard and Voiceless down before going himself. Voiceless led the way through the corridors she had already seen in the cyberspace. The other decker was tagging her closely, throwing glances left and right to the patients’ rooms. Voiceless hadn’t asked what he had found precisely but now she suspected she was not going to like it. 

   
 

They reached the doors of the operating blocks, Voiceless went to the first one and Dusty to the other, the pooka stretching on the tip of their toes to take a peek through the little windows. Voiceless activated her thermal vision to properly see what was in the mildly lit room. She could see two coloured silhouettes. One standing up in bright orange while another was laying down, it’s yellow hue slowly shifting to a warm green. Too late for this one apparently. 

   
 

“This one is a no-go, children. There’s too many people inside. I could toss a gas grenade but that would make some noise.” noted Dusty as they looked away from the window. 

   
 

Voiceless switched back to her regular vision. “Only one person in this one. And a dead body. If someone can sneak inside and take him down quietly that would do the work.” 

   
 

“I can try.” replied Domitius quietly, sneak wasn’t his strong suit but he was quick and a doctor would not be able to stand very long against his brute force. 

   
 

“Alright. Good luck, Wolf.” 

   
 

The giant nodded and crouched before pushing the door open quietly. The operating block was separated in two parts by a half wall and a large window, first a small space so the medical personnel could wash their hands then the room with the operating table. Domitius slipped inside, keeping his head low so he would not be visible from the surgery side. The door swung back, with a soft noise. The doctor looked up from his notepad to see who had entered but saw no one. Frowning he stepped aside from the corpse.  

   
 

“Is anybody in there ?” called the ork met only with silence. He frowned, he could swear there was shadows moving outside the door. He heard a faint shuffle in the washing booth and stepped closer. “Hello ? Are you guys looking for something ?” Did a test subject escape their locked room and hid in there ? The doctor snatched a syringe of sedative laying on the table and kept it raised up, ready to stab. “Come out there. I won’t hurt you.” 

   
 

The ork pressed himself against the half wall, his tongue licking his tusk nervously. Adrenaline deliciously pumping through his heart. Maybe he should have joined the army. He took a deep breath and swirled inside the booth, he barely had the time to finish his move that a heavy body crashed against his, tackling him to the ground with a feral growl, one gloved hand against his throat and he could feel the pointed end of claws under the thick leather. His airway clasped shut prevented a scream from escaping his throat. Burning eyes of molten gold riveting him to the cold hard floor and a glint of sharp teeth blazing in the dark room. He struggled on the ground, trying to kick the animal off his body. His syringe had slipped from his grasp somewhere next to his body, he blindly searched for it while his other hand desperately pounded into the beast’s shoulder and flank. His sight started to grow dim and his moves grew slower. He was about to pass out when his trembling fingers stung themselves on the prick of a needle. 

   
 

His mouth twisted into a victorious grin as he grabbed the syringe and stabbed it into his attackers shoulder. The inhuman maw growled but instead of letting go a shrill chomp lacerated the side of his neck. A choked gasp escaped from his throat and a wet chunk of his flesh was ripped off from his body. Warm blood poured out as the creature stumbled back on its feet, yanking the syringe from the meat of its body. The ork convulsed on the floor, gargling hopelessly as his throat flood with red iron and filled his mouth and lungs. The assailant staggered to the door and opened it clumsily, three shadows caught him as it tripped forward. The doctor’s sight turned black. 

   
 

“Shit, Domi !” squeaked the pooka trying to keep the heavy body up. “What happened to you ?” The giant huffed, blood dripping from his mouth, and pushed the syringe against his sibling, struggling to stay on his feet. “That’s a classic sedative. Seems like he didn’t manage to fully inject it. You’re a big guy, Domi. You’ll manage but it will be hard.” 

   
 

Voices started to grow in the hallways, someone coming. Voiceless hissed and pushed everyone through the door, slamming it close behind them. Pritchard slipped on the liquid and barely held back a yap of surprise when he saw the mangled ork with blood-shot eyes looking in their direction. He breathed out slowly when he realised the man was long dead and not actually staring at his face. It was still a horrible sight. Voiceless pulled the decker down to move his face away from the windows sight, almost making him fall in the pool of blood. He caught himself on one hand which went down with a wet slap, making him wince with disgust. He was washing that hand with bleach once he was back to the HQ. The voices chattered close then faded away. Pritchard pushed himself up, careful not to get more blood on himself than he already did. Dusty turned on the water for him and the decker gratefully scrubbed his fingers clean.  

   
 

Domitius was leaning against the door, breathing heavily as he fought back against the sedative induced slumber, helped by his sibling giving him gentle slaps whenever he was trying to close his eyes. Voiceless strode over the corpse and stepped carefully in the surgery room. Looking for what they came for in the first place. Pritchard quickly joined her, careful not too look at the mutilated throat of the ork. 

   
 

“Do you know what the device looks like, Snake ?” asked the elf when he finally reached her. 

   
 

“Yeah, some sort of big, white helmet.” 

   
 

It currently wasn’t on the corpse’s head or on the table nearby. Pritchard took a cautious look at the poor soul laying on the table, two augmented arms, what looked like construction worker models. His torso was littered in burns and from the tazer laying on the nearby table he could guess which death had befallen on this man. Voiceless opened the closets, looking for the said item. She shuffled through the storage cabinets until one of them refused to open, the elf slid her mechanical finger against the lock, should be easy enough to break. She took her knife and planted it inside, cracking it open. The door finally opened and Voiceless smiled. A white machine held on a plastic head. She pulled it out, making the bust fall in the process and showed it to the other decker. 

   
 

“This ?” 

   
 

“Yes ! That’s it !” confirmed Pritchard rushing to take it between his hands. It was rather heavy, the shape fitting oddly in his grasp. Just an ugly prototype but it may save Jensen’s life. He let out a relieved sigh. They just had to shove it in the bag, return in the elevator and- 

   
 

The alarms started blaring, startling the lot of them. 

   
 

 _Fuck._  

   
 

Someone must have found the knocked out doctor, or he had woken up and ringed the bell on his own. The deckers rushed back to Dusty and Domitius, the giant struggling to get back on his feet. Voiceless snatched the bag from him and shoved the system reanimator inside before tossing it to Dusty. 

   
 

“You carry it. We’re helping Wolf out.” 

   
 

“How will we leave ?! They will lock the elevator !” protested Pritchard. 

   
 

“I unlocked a sewer access. Must be in the third room that didn’t have any camera feed. We’ll escape through there.” 

   
 

The three of them nodded and Dusty pushed the door open. The medical personnel was running towards the elevator in panic, no point following them and getting spotted. They all left the operating block and dragged Domitius along. Voiceless showed the way through the corridors. The captured augs were banging on the doors of their rooms, locked inside like animals. Pritchard gritted his teeth and pushed forward, heaving the giant man on his shoulder. He was going to have nightmares and be sore in the morning once again that was certain. 

   
 

The elf pointed at a door at the end of the hallway. “There. That’s the room that doesn’t have cameras inside.” 

   
 

Dusty rushed ahead, pushing the double door open, sounds of gunshots had started ringing behind them. They were cleaning the house. Shit. The two deckers hurried up, the giant between them struggling to keep up the pace. The pooka slapping the doors shut behind them. Voiceless left Domitius on Frank’s shoulders while she looked for the sewer access in the dark. Pritchard fumbled with one hand to turn on the light at his shoulder. The putrid smell made him gag, was it the stench of the sewers ? The flash blinded him when he finally found the switch, he rubbed his face with a low hiss while he pushed the sparks away. Then he finally opened his eyes and realised where they had hid themselves. 

   
 

The morgue, bodies of murdered augmented metahumans haphazardly discarded in the cold room before their parts could be snatched and their bodies cremated to leave no evidence behind. Domitius huffed on his shoulder and his large hand wrapped itself around the flashlight, coating them in shadows. 

   
 

“Wolf, what are you doing ?!” hissed the decker trying to push the hand away. 

   
 

“Don’t… They will see us through the door…” breathed out the giant keeping a tight hold on the bulb. 

   
 

Pritchard cursed, right, the double doors had small windows encased into them. The guards would notice the beam through them. “Fine. Let me turn it off.” 

   
 

Domitius adjusted his palm so the smaller man could flick the switch once again. Unlike everyone else he didn’t have low-light or thermal vision and staying in the dark while knowing what lay there sent shivers down his spine. 

   
 

“It’s okay… won’t let anything happen to you… you’re safe…” mumbled Domitius, speaking was becoming harder for him by the second but he fought back against the flow of the drug. 

   
 

“Yeah well, tell me that again when you’re not about to faint on my back.” retorted the decker.  

   
 

A low grating sound growled somewhere in the shadows and Pritchard tensed against the massive body. “Found the sewer access. Come here.” called Voiceless in a low whisper. 

   
 

The decker nodded and stumbled in the darkness, trying to move toward the voice, Domitius helped him orient himself in the shadows. A hand tapped him on the leg causing him to jolt backward. The giant grunted as he was pushed. “It’s Voice.”  

   
 

“Y-Yeah... I obviously knew that...” muttered the raven-haired man as he carefully pushed his foot closer.  

   
 

The hand came to grab his ankle and lead him into the hole until the tip of his boot had reached the first bar of a ladder. Domitius let go of his shoulders and slumped on the floor next to the opening. Even though the giant was still affected by drowsiness he kept guiding the decker down. The ladder was moist under his hands, probably caked in blood and other bodily fluids that had washed past there slaughter after slaughter. The foul odor reeking from the sewers snaked inside his nostrils, making him gag helplessly as he forced himself down as fast has he could in the complete darkness. Domitius heaved himself inside right after him and pulled the grate back above them until it clicked. Pritchard lowered himself down carefully, he wanted nothing more but let go of the sticky bars and get rid of the filth clinging to his palms but his feet kept slipping treacherously, forcing him to keep an iron grip on the metal. 

   
 

By the time the sole of his boot met solid ground he could hear muffled shouts above his head, whatever guards DocWagon had hired must have reached the morgue and were looking for them. The decker hoped they would disregard the sewer grate and not try to follow them down the path. Pritchard moved away from the ladder, his hand blindly following the damp wall as Domitius shuffled down. Voiceless’ augmented hand took his and led him through the tunnels, the giant on his heels, breathing heavily. 

   
 

“Don’t turn your lights on yet, Snake. If they look down they could see us.” warned the elf. 

   
 

“Yeah, I know. I’m not a moron.” hissed the decker doing his best to keep up the pace in pitch darkness.  

   
 

He could hear the squeaks of rats and the discreet sound of their hands trotting along the pipes, the lazy flow of the dirty water flowing past them, and the distant sound of some machine running. The bigger man seemed to have mostly recovered from his sedation and was now walking normally, the decker was the only one blind. It would almost be soothing if he was not jumping anytime a furry pest brushed past his ankle. Domitius tried to appease him a couple of times but Pritchard was way too upset to be in the mood, shooting some snark back to the giant who simply let it glide along his tough skin.  

   
 

“Child, if you keep insulting my brother I will pour laxatives in your coffee.” warned Dusty from the head of the group. 

   
 

“I don’t need to be coddled like a baby ! I can handle myself !” 

   
 

“Oh ? Then I guess you don’t need to have someone holding your hand either ?” 

   
 

“I. Am. Blind. I’m sorry I wasn’t born with a pair of night-vision lenses.” 

   
 

“Then maybe don’t attack those who do and are trying to help you.” 

   
 

Voiceless sighed loudly. “You two stop bickering, we’re almost out.” 

   
 

The crew regrouped at the foot of another ladder, this time Domitius went first so he could push the manhole off. Dusty went after him, then Pritchard and Voiceless last. The giant pushed the cover away and the dim glow of street lights flooded the drain. It was over. Finally they could go home.


	6. Are you really back ?

>>>>>[Anyone interested into some intel about a DocWagon black site and their resurrection experiments here ?]<<<<< 

-Voiceless

 

>>>>>[I might. I've had my eye on them lately, mind sending the files ?]<<<<< 

-GoldenRush 

 

>>>>>[Sure. Once I've been paid for the data.]<<<<< 

-Voiceless

 

>>>>[I see. I'll send a paiement your way, I've added a discretion fee of course. I want to be the only one having that data?]<<<<< 

-GoldenRush 

 

>>>>>[This is satisfying. I'll tell you how we'll handle the drop. Stay tuned.]<<<<<

-Voiceless

 

* * *

 

 

Domitius carefully shoved the cookies in the heated oven. He had been cooking restlessly since they had returned from the run. Everyone was busy in some way. Dusty was binge watching the vids to understand how the device worked, Voiceless was looking for a way to sell the files Frank had stolen, Malik was on her way to fetch David Sarif, and the decker was trying to catch some rest on the couch. 

   
 

Once they had returned and Frank had taken a shower he had apologised for snapping in the sewers. Domitius had simply shrugged, he knew how he could be when he was tensed and didn’t take it personally. The giant wondered if he would feel more at ease once his friend was back from his slumber. The decker had never truly called Jensen his ‘friend’ but Domitius had heard stories about the man. Of how he and Frank would bicker endlessly, of how they relied on each others for their missions, their rivalry and ultimately their trust into each others. 

   
 

He scrubbed his freshly cut nails clean under the water, the cookies should be ready soon. Thinking about the two men’s relationship filled him with a vague feeling of… Envy ? Jealousy ? He couldn’t tell exactly. All he knew was that the decker was not entirely at ease with their team and it pained him. Sure, Frank had said several times that he knew they would watch his back but he still double-checked himself whenever he could. He once had Voiceless tell him about Frank’s previous team as a way to explain why he was so distrustful but it still puzzled the runner. They were not his previous team. Good teams look for each others. He did trust Voiceless. Malik as well. And it showed. So why the decker who had known them for longer than he did the pilot would still be walking on the tip of his toes ? 

   
 

He sighed. No point dwelling on that. When Frank would be ready to come around he would. The giant opened the oven’s door to check on his bakery. They seemed to be perfectly baked, golden and crispy. Domitius grabbed the oven mitts and took the cookies out. 

   
 

“Hey, Big Boy ! What’s that good smell ?” chirped Malik as she trotted in with her ex-boss on her heels. 

   
 

“Cookies.” replied the giant showing the tray to the two of them. 

   
 

“Nice ! Can I take one ?” 

   
 

“They’re still hot.” warned Domitius but the pilot liked danger and nabbed one regardless, hissing when the hot biscuit stung her tongue and fingers at the same time. 

   
 

“Faridah, please...” said Sarif with an amused smile. 

   
 

“But Domi’s cookies are so good ! I just can’t wait !” 

   
 

The giant rolled his eyes and went to put the tray to cool on the table then greeted their guest politely. “Welcome back, mister Sarif.” 

   
 

“Oh, please. You can call me David. Faridah told me you found the device we talked about ?” 

   
 

“We did. Dusty is working on it but we wanted someone to check on Adam’s augs before waking him up.” explained the giant. 

   
 

David nodded. “Yes, I understand. Will you allow me to stay here when you will pull him out of the coma ?” 

   
 

“I don’t think Dusty will be opposed to it. We’ll have to ask them for confirmation.” 

   
 

“Of course. Can we go see Adam now ?” 

   
 

Domitius acquiesced, he untied his ‘Kiss The Cook’ apron, hung it properly with the others and led the way, Malik followed them closely, blowing on her half-eaten cookie to cool it down. He opened the door for them and the trio entered Pritchard’s room. Sarif had a short moment of shock once again when he saw Adam but quickly shook it off. The CEO went to the aug’s bedside and started to check on his arm, going through its various function with expert hands, opening the plates on his forearm. 

   
 

Malik went to sit on Pritchard’s seat by the desk and Domitius kept his spot near the older man, watching his actions closely. Sarif frowned and mumbled to himself several times, the giant managed to catch a few ‘what’s this ?’ and ‘that’s not right...’ muttered under his breath. 

   
 

“Excuse me, Domi is it ? May I ask you to check something up for me, son ?” 

   
 

“Domitius. Domi is a nickname.” corrected the man as the other came closer as instructed. 

   
 

“Domitius, alright. Do you see that wire here ?” 

   
 

The giant frowned and pushed his big head closer, yes he could see it. There was plenty of wires, all black, but this one was a different hue from the others, he carefully pinched it and pulled it out from the rest. 

   
 

“Yes ! That one ! Don’t unplug it !” 

   
 

“What is it ?” asked Faridah dragging the chair closer to the bed. 

   
 

“Well I have no idea. It’s not supposed to be here. It’s not the type of wire we used in Sarif Industries either so it’s not from us.” 

   
 

“So someone did something to Adam while he was passed out...” whispered the pilot in a pained voice. Didn’t he suffer enough already ? 

   
 

“Yes. Give me some time and I might figure out what it is but I will need a complete scan for the augs I don’t have access to.” 

   
 

“Dusty can get you that.” replied Domitius. 

   
 

“Good, good. Back to work.” 

   
 

Sarif kept digging inside the arm, isolating the intruders augs into Adam’s system, cursing about how sloppy the connection was, sometimes he would ask Domitius to hold a wire for him or ask him a medical question which were systematically answered with a shrug. Malik sometimes tried to take a peek whenever the older man would make a comment on how improbable this was. 

   
 

They were in the middle of their exploration when the rest of the crew showed up. “David ? What are you doing ?” hissed Pritchard rushing to Jensen’s side.  

   
 

“Oh, well I was just checking up on Adam. There’s experimental augs spliced into his system, that must be the reason why his essence count was so low.” 

   
 

“So they _did_ do something to him...” whispered the decker. _Fuck_. 

   
 

“Yes. I think the augs are turned off for now so there should be no risk to wake him up.” explained the older man closing up the arm’s plates and getting up from the bed. 

   
 

“That’s good news, child !” chirped Dusty, the system reanimator in their hands. “And do you have any idea what kind of augs are in there ?” 

   
 

“Well, I only got a look at his arm so I can’t tell if that’s all he got. But so far I found what seems to be remote hacking aug, a P.E.P.S, a TESLA, and a nanoblade launcher. I heard about those. TITAN augs. But they were just prototypes ! I didn’t think they could actually go through with it ! Even less manage to implant so many of them for such a small essence count !” 

   
 

“Hmmm, they probably just gambled on the fact that if they simply ‘tweaked’ Adam’s pre-existing augs it wouldn’t be too traumatic for his body.” suggested Dusty. 

   
 

“Maybe… Jesus… This is a mess in there. Activating those augs will be a hell of a work. If we try now it would just cause massive overload to his system. The job was far from finished and I have no idea how we could get around that.” 

   
 

“Easy, child. No one’s talking about activating them. If Adam wants to we will look into it, until then they are better left dormant.” 

   
 

“Yes… Yes of course… I-… Adam should be given the choice, right.” 

   
 

Pritchard frowned at that, he didn’t want Sarif to toy with Jensen’s body ever again. “Are we ready to wake him up then ?” 

   
 

“I believe so, child !” chirped Dusty with a bright smile. “I have figured how to configure the system reanimator thanks to the videos you got us. It shows decent results so I think we have a good chance success here.”  

   
 

Sarif smiled brightly and clapped in his metallic hands. “Excellent ! Let’s get to it then !” 

   
 

“Yes, let’s ! You can all go out.” 

   
 

“Excuse me ?” strangled Pritchard. “I’m not going anywhere !” 

   
 

“I’m not giving you a choice here, child. This is a matter of safety.” 

   
 

“Safety ?! Are you kidding me ?! I’m not going to do anything to him !” 

   
 

“Not his. Yours.” replied the pooka calmly, already setting up near the bed. 

   
 

“What are you talking about Dusty ? He’s not dangerous !” protested the decker, ignoring Malik trying to gently take him out of the room. 

   
 

“It’s not about that, child. For all we know your friend’s mind could be trapped in some hellish nightmare and he could react violently upon waking up. Or he could be confused and shocked, having a troop of people he doesn’t recognise could shake him pretty badly. The less people there is in this room once he regains consciousness the better it is.” 

   
 

Pritchard gritted his teeth. He wanted to be here when Jensen would emerge. So badly. He wanted to see his eyes open, hold his hand, tell him everything would be fine. 

   
 

“Listen, child. I’ll try this device but I’ll need to ask him some questions to make sure he’s alright. If he wakes up I’ll knock twice but don’t come in until I tell you so, okay ?” 

   
 

“Fine. Whatever. Just-… Do what you have to do, Dusty.” 

   
 

“You can count on me, child.” peeped the pooka. 

   
 

Malik led the decker to the door where everyone else was already waiting and closed it behind them. Dusty sighed lightly and resumed their work. The system reanimator was relatively easy to use, after all it had to be quick to install in case of emergencies. The pooka carefully installed Adam’s head inside, making sure his neck was secured and his skin was in contact with the electrodes inside and started to fiddle with the settings. The machine beeped its contentment and Dusty gave it a gentle pat. Good child. Now all they had to do was to switch it on and wait for it to do its job. The pooka activated the machine and stood next to Adam. A faint buzz sizzled as it started to work its magic. Adam’s fingers and feet twitched as his nerves were shocked back to life. Dusty leaned closer, observing his reactions closely. Muscles of his neck contracted, his head jerked slightly, his nose crunched, then the man took in a long breath before his eyes blinked open. 

   
 

A hoarse rasp caught in his dry throat and he choked out cough. “Wh-where...” 

   
 

“You’re up ! Great ! Here, let me get you out of this thing, child.” cheered the pooka as they carefully took Adam’s head out of the device and dropped it aside. The aug tried to lift a hand but dropped it back down with a pained hiss. “Everything is fine, child. Wait for me here, I have a couple of questions to ask you to make sure nothing’s wrong. I’ll be right back.” They said before hopping to the door and tapped twice before rushing back to the confused man. 

   
 

“This-… ugh… this is not a hospital...” 

   
 

“Keen eyes, child. Indeed, this is not a hospital. You’re in our HQ but don’t worry you’re safe,” Adam nodded, breathing heavily. “I’m going to ask you a few things, is that okay ?” 

   
 

“Yeah… go ahead.” 

   
 

“Can you lift your left hand ?” The man complied and Dusty made an appreciative noise, they gave him another few more commands to check his legs and coordination and Jensen followed them quietly, understanding the need to check his motor functions. “How many fingers ?” 

   
 

“Three...” 

   
 

“Good ! Everything seems to be in order, that’s good news ! I can’t ask you for the day I guess but can you tell me your name ?” 

   
 

“Sure. My name is… My name is…” Jensen frowned, his breathing quickened, he pushed himself up. Dusty rushed to his side, trying to keep him down. “I-… I can’t remember… I can’t remember my name… I don’t know who I am…” 

   
 

“Easy, child. Take a deep breath. You’re safe.” 

   
 

“No, no, you don’t understand… I’m- … I can’t remember a damn thing…” 

   
 

Adam grabbed Dusty’s arm, the aug clenching so hard on the limb the pooka had to clench their jaw to prevent themselves from screaming. He was panting, shivers snaking along his back as a thin layer of sweat appeared above his brow. His green enhanced eyes looking desperately through the blood red ones for answers the healer could not give. “I can understand, child…” said the pooka in a low tone, doing their best to keep their cool. “You have been in a coma for a year after nearly drowning… You’re having retrograde amnesia. Those kind of episodes are relatively common after being deprived of oxygen for a long period of time, your memory may come back in the next few days for all we know but you must remain calm. Now, will you please let go of my arm before you break the bones.” 

   
 

The man looked at his hand, digging deep in the flesh of the small metahuman. Adam released the arm immediately, looking at his augmented arm, dread bleeding inside his eyes. “Shit ! I’m sorry, I-… I didn’t realise I was-” 

   
 

“It’s fine, child. You were shocked. I expected something like this to happen.” interrupted the pooka with a comforting smile as they rubbed their aching arm. They would need a pocket of ice and an X-Ray. 

   
 

Adam breathed deeply, trying to relax but his body was still trembling from the sheer panic he felt when he had realised that his life was gone from his memories. He held his head between his hand as he exhaled shakily. “What happened ? Where am I ?” 

   
 

“You’re in Detroit. In our HQ. We are your friends, we rescued you a few days ago and tried to wake you up since then.” explained Dusty patting his hair gently with their valid hand. 

   
 

“Friends ?” Adam looked up again, scanning the face of the pooka. “I don’t remember you… Sorry.” 

   
 

“Good thing you don’t ! We’ve never met before. I’m actually the friend of some of your friends.” 

   
 

The man sighed with relief. “Alright. Alright. Are they here ?” 

   
 

“Your friends ? Yes. Well, two of them at least. Oh, and your ex-boss ! He came to check up on you. I don’t know on what kind of terms you were with him. Do you want to see them ? You can refuse if you think you’re not ready, they will understand.” 

   
 

Adam looked down at his hands again, he clenched and unclenched them a few time before slumping back on the pillow. “They can come. It’s fine. Maybe I’ll remember something if I see them.” 

   
 

Dusty smiled at him and nodded. “Very well, child. I’ll go warn them.” 

   
 

“Wait ! Before you go…” 

   
 

“Hm ? What is it ? You need something ?” 

   
 

“My name. You didn’t tell me my name.” 

   
 

Dusty opened big eyes and let out a little ‘oops’. “Silly me ! I should have started with this ! Your name is Adam Jensen. We’re in November 2028. Welcome back to the World.” 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

“They’re taking too long.” mumbled Pritchard tapping the floor with his foot, the decker hadn’t stopped since he had been ousted out of his bedroom and it was irritating pretty much everyone. Domitius and Voiceless had left, the first one to keep cooking and baking for his anxious friends and the newly awakened Adam who would probably appreciate eating some actual food after waking up. 

   
 

“It’s fine, Frank. Those kind of check-ups always take some time. At least we know Adam is up, that’s a big step forward.” assured Sarif patiently even if his ex-employee’s ticks were starting to get on his nerves. 

   
 

“Yeah… Do you think they need help in there ? Maybe we should check just to make sure ?” 

   
 

“Come on, Pritchard. You can handle some waiting ! You’re even more annoying than that time the wifi was down for two hours ! And you were really insufferable back then !” retorted Malik. She too wanted to see Adam and being waiting outside wasn’t great to her either but she didn’t need to make sure the entire world knew about how pissed she was. Frank mumbled something under his breath but did shut up. 

   
 

After a while the door finally opened and Dusty came out. 

   
 

“Is he okay ? Can we see him ?” immediately jumped Pritchard earning a roll of Malik’s eyes. 

   
 

“Well, good news is : ‘yes, you can’. Bad news is : ‘before doing this you will need a disclaimer’.” 

   
 

“What happened ? Is something wrong ?” asked Sarif with a pinch of anxiety in his voice. 

   
 

“For the good news his motor and coordination skills are fine, he’s coherent, he’s seeing fine, but he has retrograde amnesia.” 

   
 

“How bad is it ? Is he missing parts or-” 

   
 

“Well, technically yes. He’s missing all the parts.” 

   
 

Pritchard groaned and Malik gasped. “I see… Do you think this could be permanent ?” asked their old boss calmly. 

   
 

“No idea ! Only time will tell. He’s hoping he will remember something by seeing the lot of you but to be honest that’s not likely to happen. I think it’s too soon. Just don’t be disappointed if he can’t recall your names or the kind of relationships you had before. Don’t try to push him it would just upset him, alright ?” 

   
 

The three of them nodded, all pretty visibly affected by the fact Adam could not remember anything about the past they had together. Sarif was looking down, Malik was biting her lip, and Francis was fiddling with the hem of his jacket while shaking his head. 

   
 

“Well, now that you know you can go see him. Call me if you need anything, children.” 

   
 

“Yeah, thanks, Dusty.” said Malik. 

   
 

The pooka nodded with a smile and went back to their room, leaving them alone. Sarif sighed and took the lead of the little group inside the bedroom. Adam was looking at the posters on the walls with a frown, his shades were retracted, and it seemed like he had removed the IV needle from his neck. 

   
 

They stepped inside carefully, finally attracting the attention of the aug. “Hey, son. How are you holding up ?” asked Sarif with a bright smile as he came next to the bed like he had when Jensen had been augmented the first time. 

   
 

“I’m fine… I think.” replied Adam, cautiously studying the older man’s face. 

   
 

“Remember me ? I am David Sarif, you worked for me a year ago. And here’s Faridah Malik and Frank Pritchard.” the other two came closer as well, the decker standing by a little, unsure of what he should do while Malik offered Adam a cheerful grin. 

   
 

“Good to see you awake, Jensen. You got us worried sick.” 

   
 

“Sorry about that. Next time I’ll try to avoid staying in a coma for a year.” 

   
 

Malik chuckled. “Well at least you have lost you sense of humour.” 

   
 

_As if he ever had one_. Thought Pritchard. After all maybe it was better that Jensen had forgotten, they could start anew, maybe even get closer to each others and- 

   
 

“That’s weird…” said the aug with a low voice, pulling Pritchard out of his brooding silence. “I can tell that this poster on the wall is about a video game I have never played or that this one is about an old movie, I can tell that I met you all before but… the memories that go with those feelings are just gone.” 

   
 

“It’s okay, son. Don’t push it. It will come back on its own later.” 

   
 

Jensen looked unsure about that, a powerful need to comfort him shook Pritchard’s guts, he was about to open his mouth when Malik spoke to him. “You okay, Frank ? You haven’t said a word since we got in ? Not even a minute ago you were so concerned about Jensen you couldn’t even shut up and now you’re just standing there.” 

   
 

The decker felt his ears redden, couldn’t she keep that to herself ? “I was NOT concerned ! I was merely wondering if all the efforts I spent to save Jensen from this Facility were wasted of not !” 

   
 

“Wait. You’re the one who saved me ?” asked Adam with a surprised tone. 

   
 

_Fuck_. “Y-Yeah. But don’t flatter yourself, Jensen. I was just-… You… would’ve done the same thing in my place.” mumbled Pritchard, here it goes. Couldn’t he just be amicable and show some consideration for the man who had nearly died trying to stop the Incident ? 

   
 

“And not only was he the one who got you out of Alaska he also lent you his room so you could get better !” chirped the pilot. The decker reddened even more, was she doing this on purpose ?! 

   
 

“Wait, I don’t get it. What was I doing in Alaska ? What did I needed rescue from ?” asked Jensen, rubbing his face with his palm. He looked so genuinely confused and lost, frowning while clenching his eyes shut as if trying to force the doors of his lost memory. 

   
 

“Ah, that’s right. A lot of things happened this year. We should have filled you in, son.” interrupted Sarif putting his hand on Adam’s shoulder, Pritchard wanted to slap it away. He had no right to touch Jensen. 

   
 

The older man started to narrate the events prior to Panchea, starting with the first attack on Sarif Industries, Megan’s abduction, the second attack, Hengsha, Taggart, the Illuminati, Panchea. Malik filled in the holes she could but the decker kept quiet during their story. 

   
 

“So Panchea collapsed and a year later you found me in Alaska ?” 

   
 

“Yes ! Well, Frank found you. I was flying the VTOL and the communications were off so I had no idea you were in there. Next thing I know he was dragging you out of there and we brought you back to Detroit. We had to fetch some things to get you out of the coma and now you’re here. That’s about it.” 

   
 

Adam hummed, this seemed all so obscure to him. Pritchard really felt sorry for him and at the same time slightly envious. He wished he could forget about the Incident and all that happened afterwards. 

   
 

“So… The doctor said you were my ex-boss. I’m guessing something happened to Sarif Industries.” 

   
 

Pritchard nearly snorted at Jensen calling Dusty a doctor but held back. “Every augmentation company collapsed except for Ares Macrotechnologies and Tai Young Medical. I’m certain you can fill the holes by yourself.” 

   
 

“I see. What have you been doing in that Facility then ? Going undercover ?” 

   
 

“Not really, Jensen,” sighed the pilot. “You see, after the Incident augs like us really struggled to find jobs so… we’re doing some shadowrunning now. Frank and the others were in the middle of an extraction mission when they found you.” 

   
 

“Shadowrunning…” Adam looked back at the posters on the walls. Pritchard remembered that one of them was about a solo shadowrunner trying to save the mind of his decker sister who had been trapped in the Matrix by an evil corporation. Romanticised version of the world of shadows of course but still a powerful movie. “I suppose it could be worse. The doctor is working for you ?” 

   
 

“Dusty ? They’re working with us as a member of the team. There’s also their brother, Domitius. And Voiceless. They’re all good people. We’re independent from gangs and corporations alike so finding jobs is not easy but we manage.” explained the pilot. 

   
 

Jensen raised an eyebrow at the mention of Dusty going on the field and Pritchard could understand him. After all the pooka was tiny, hardly predictable, and it was very difficult to take them seriously whether it was as a healer, a shadowrunner, or as an adult in general. But they were fast, highly intelligent, and their magic, even if it wasn’t their strong suit, often turned the tides in their favour. 

   
 

Someone knocked on the door and the decker went to check while Malik and Sarif kept talking to Jensen. Pritchard opened the door and found himself nose to nose with Domitius holding an impressive plate of cookies in his large hand, his apron still tied around his waist. “The cookies have cooled.” said the giant placidly. 

   
 

“Uh… Good ?” 

   
 

“If you guys want some you can take them. Dusty told me it was fine for Adam to eat them with his sentinel implant. If he doesn’t like cookies there’s an apple pie in the oven… and a chocolate cake on the way.” 

   
 

“Thanks, Domitius. But I think we’ll get diabetes before we even get to the end of those cookies.” quipped the decker accepting the plate. 

   
 

The large man frowned, looking back at his baked goods with a puzzled look. “Do you think I used too much sugar ?” 

   
 

Pritchard hesitated to tell him it was just a joke but somehow he felt it would make the man even more confused. “No, you didn’t. Thanks for the cakes, I’ll share with the others.” 

   
 

Domitius relaxed and nodded, turning back to the kitchen probably to prepare lunch. Frank went back inside and closed the door. “Well, if anyone’s having the munchies it’s now or never.” 

   
 

Malik gasped. “Domi’s cookies ! Gimme ! Gimme ! Gimme ! Jensen ! You gotta take some ! You’re gonna love that !” 

   
 

The aug looked at her jump around with a faint smile on his lips. Pritchard rolled his eyes and stepped closer, Adam turning his attention back at him. Their eyes made contact and the decker realised he had never properly seen his eyes after his surgery. The gold gleamed for a fraction of second and he felt like those irises were trying to pull him inside. Malik nearly crashed into him to get the biscuits off his hands, breaking the spell he was put under. 

   
 

The pilot handed Jensen a cookie. “I would say it feels like ages since I last ate but that would be a bad joke.” 

   
 

“With Domi around you’re more likely to gain some weight than lose it now.” 

   
 

Jensen nodded and took a bite letting out a relieved sigh as the sweet taste flooded his senses. Pritchard could only imagine what it must feel like for the aug. He did remember when he went back to Voiceless, after a few months of rationing his food and living off caffeine pills, and being greeted by the warm meal the giant had cooked for him. He could not even remember what it was just that it tasted like heaven. It must not be so different for Adam at this point. 

   
 

“Well, I’m afraid I’ll have to go, son. Can you take me back, Faridah ?” 

   
 

“Already ? I mean I can but Jensen just woke up.” replied the pilot between two bites. 

   
 

“I have some business to attend to. I will come back of course ! I'm relieved to know you’re in good hands, Adam.” 

   
 

“Yeah. Thanks for visiting.” 

   
 

“No problem. Get well soon, son.” 

   
 

Sarif waved at Adam before leaving the room, Malik grabbed a handful of cookies and followed him, leaving Pritchard and Jensen alone. 

   
 

“… Frank ?” 

   
 

The decker jumped. “Wh-what ?!” 

   
 

“That’s your name, right ? Frank Pritchard.” 

   
 

“Oh you can remember five minutes old information ! At least there’s some hope for your brain !” _Fuck_. 

   
 

Adam frowned and remained silent for a few seconds, searching the decker’s face carefully. “There’s something I would like to ask you.” 

   
 

Pritchard raised his eyebrow. “What is it, Jensen ?” 

   
 

“You didn’t tell me your version.” 

   
 

“My version of what ?” 

   
 

“Of what happened before. You didn’t say a thing. I’d like to hear it.” insisted the aug. 

   
 

“You already know what’s important. I don’t think there’s a lot I can add to whatever Malik and Sarif told you and I don’t see why hearing it a second time from me would matter.” mumbled the decker with a shrug. 

   
 

“Because I trust you.”  

   
 

Pritchard froze. “D-don’t be silly, Jensen. It’s like you’ve just met me. You’re not the type to give your trust so easily.” 

   
 

“I don’t remember you, that’s true. But it’s like I didn’t forget you either,” started Adam, looking down at his hands. “I cannot tell what we’ve been through but it’s like part of my brain still recognises you. I just know that before everything was erased I trusted you… a lot.” 

   
 

The decker bit his lip. He was kidding, right ? “Well if you still remember the feelings you had before then you must trust Malik as well.” he countered still not looking at Adam in the eye. 

   
 

“I do but… I have the feeling I was not telling her everything. So I’d like to know.” 

   
 

Pritchard hesitated for a moment. There was… some things left unsaid. He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed and started talking. About the secret tunnel in their firewall Sarif had used to chat with Brent Radford, Michelle Walthers, how he disappeared for a few days in Hengsha to show up again in Singapour, Megan’s betrayal, and their goodbyes in Panchea. He also talked about the intel he had stolen from his computer before leaving Sarif Industries, about his past as a test subject in the White Heelix labs, his rescue by the nurse, his adoptive parents, his DNA, the contract loophole Sarif used, everything. Adam listened to him silently, processing all this information without interrupting the decker’s tale. 

   
 

“-and that’s about all I know. The rest is pretty much the same as Malik and Sarif told you. Panchea collapsed and we thought you were still at the bottom of the ocean until we found you in Alaska.” 

   
 

The aug nodded. “I see. Thank you for telling me this.” 

   
 

Pritchard shrugged. “You will remember about it at some point so it’s not like I could hide it from you.” 

   
 

“Maybe. But it does help. So thanks.” 

   
 

“Don’t mention it.” The decker breathed out heavily and ran his hand through his hair, Adam deserved to know. “There’s uh… one last thing I can give you. I don’t know if that will help but... I thought… well… I thought that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to keep it around.” 

   
 

Jensen raised an eyebrow. “What is it ?” 

   
 

Pritchard got up and started digging under the bed to pull out the two boxes he had stashed there and dropped them next to Adam. “That was in your locker. In Sarif Industries. I… I more or less stole it when I left. You should have it back. It’s yours.” 

   
 

Jensen’s fingers followed the boxes’ edge. “You held onto that for a year ?” 

   
 

“Don’t make it look like I’m sentimental or something ! I just FORGOT I had them there.” 

   
 

Jensen hummed in answer. Of course he hadn’t forgotten about them, and there was no doubt the ex-cop would read through him. The aug broke the seals on the boxes, Pritchard had never dared open them, it would feel wrong to do so. Jensen dug through the first one, pictures from his desk, a bottle of wine, a bunch of painkillers, a pack of cigarettes, books, and what seemed to be security reports. He paused a moment on the pictures, scrubbing the dust away. The decker dared take a peek above his shoulder to see the one Jensen was holding. A picture of him, Megan, and that dog. What was its name already ? Jensen put the picture back in the box and closed it, turning his attention to the second one. He pulled out one of his long coats he seemed to appreciate and ran his fingers along the fabric, Pritchard could see the gleam of a gun inside the container, resting upon a reinforced chest plate. 

   
 

“Thank you.” 

   
 

“Uh ?” replied the decker pulling his eyes away from Jensen’s stuff, feeling his cheeks heat up when he realised the aug’s attention was fully on him and he saw him snooping through his belongings. 

   
 

“For keeping all of this. It means a lot to me that you did.” 

   
 

“I… It’s fine. You must be tired. I’ll let you rest some more.” 

   
 

“You’re right. See you soon, Frank.” 

   
 

The decker nodded, he didn’t really have much to do outside his room but Adam needed some time to think. And maybe sleeping some more wouldn’t hurt him either. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for taking forever to update, I got stuck on a scene a little further in the story and the winter break got me down. But hopefully I should be able to resume my writing back as before ^^


	7. New People New Memories

_> >>>>[Sarif Industries may be dead but sadly the man is not]<<<<<_

_-NullGod_

_> >>>>[What the hell do you mean ?]<<<<<_

_-Nucl3arSnake_

_> >>>>[The guy was seen sneaking in some shady parts of Detroit twice. He must be up to something, probably involved with some Shadowrunners for something]<<<<<_

_-NullGod_

_> >>>>[Actually what tells me he's not involved with you ? You're in Detroit]<<<<<_

_-NullGod_

_> >>>>[Pfft. Don't be ridiculous. The guy couldn't hire runners when he was at the head of an AA Corp. Why would he bother now that he lost his Corp ?]<<<<<_

_-Nucl3arSnake_

_> >>>>[That's fair. But if I was you I'd keep an eye out. Who knows, maybe you'll get a job for once.]<<<<<_

_-NullGod_

 

* * *

 

 

“So, how is it going now, child ? Remember anything yet ?” 

   
 

Adam was sitting on the examination table of the pooka’s room, looking carefully around him. Some things in the room seemed familiar to him and he could guess they were home-made explosives. He wasn’t sure it was a brilliant idea to install what seemed to be the infirmary in a room filled with bombs. “Not really. I suppose it’s still too soon.” 

   
 

“It’s alright. Most of the time these kind of memories return after a little while. Is there anything else you’d like to talk about ? Have you been in pain or something ?” 

   
 

“I don’t think so… I feel weak but not in pain. How about you ?” replied Adam pointing at the pooka’s arm which had been fitted with a cast after he had nearly crushed their arm upon waking up. 

   
 

“Oh, I’m fine. It’s just a hairline fracture, I’ll be healed in no time.” chirped the pooka tapping their arm. 

   
 

“Yeah. Sorry about that. Was there anything else you needed to check with me ?” 

   
 

“Yes ! David told me you were still in the middle of recovery therapy from your augmentation surgery before returning to the field. I figured you’d like to resume it.” 

   
 

Adam clenched and unclenched his fingers, he did have some trouble measuring his strength and the pooka’s wound was proof. “Sounds good. What will it be like ?” 

   
 

“David got me your medical file, it tells me you were fixing clocks as a way to restore fine physical movement, so Domi and I went out to pick up some gear for you.” said the pooka pointing at full bag next to the examination table. 

   
 

Adam hopped down the table and took a look inside, it was a genuine mess of tools, lonely parts and broken clocks picked out randomly. He couldn’t even tell if he would have the correct pieces to reassemble the clocks inside but the gesture still moved him a little. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” 

   
 

“No problem, child ! We are still looking for a desk so you can set up there but in the meantime I cleared one of my work tables so you can keep busy.” said the pooka pointing at the said table. ‘Cleared’ was the right word. Or more exactly, everything had been pushed off the table and left on the floor right next to it. 

   
 

He huffed a chuckle and set the bag on the table. “Thanks for that. I’ll see if I can start something with what you got me.” 

   
 

He would probably need some books in the near future but that was a worry for later. Maybe Frank could download him whatever blueprints he would need. When he had woken up from his nap the decker was already there on his computer. It was his room after all. The aug started to sort out the pieces he had. He actually had a decent stock to start with. It felt strange using a skill and relying on knowledge he didn’t remember learning but it was comforting in some way, he hadn’t lost everything. 

   
 

He started to work while the pooka lurked behind him, doing their own business but often taking a peek over his shoulder and asking questions about his work. He found out that they actually knew quite a few things about assembling the clocks, probably from bomb-making, and were genuinely interested in his craft. They ended up sitting next to him, giving him a hand and lending him their tools. 

   
 

Adam smiled without thinking about it, the room filled itself with mindless chatter and low chuckles. Despite the injury the aug had caused the pooka felt no fear nor seemed obsessed with his shiny enhancements and it felt nice having someone to share a hobby with. They occasionally shared friendly shoulder bumps between bad jokes and light-hearted comments. Dusty shared a few colourful stories of their runs, about that time they all had to escape using a prototype space shuttle and ended up in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, or the one where they had to fight an other-world abomination that turned out to be deadly allergic to pepper. Adam listened with a faint smile on his lips, he wished he could reciprocate by narrating his own stories, maybe soon he could. Until then he would simply enjoy someone else’s tales and if he couldn’t remember his own then he would make some new ones. 

   
 

Someone knocked on the door and they both looked up from the workstation. Pritchard was standing in the doorway, vaguely scowling. 

   
 

“When you’re both done gossiping you could both come to the kitchen. Dinner is ready.” 

   
 

“Of course, child ! We’ll be over right away.” 

   
 

The decker shrugged and left, dragging his feet. 

   
 

“Is there something wrong with him ?” asked Adam once he was out of ear-shot. 

   
 

“Who ? Frank ? Oh, no. I think he’s just jealous. Since he got your pod back he spent most of his time brooding over you so I’m guessing he’d like to spend more time with you.” 

   
 

Adam hummed, finishing to screw a bolt inside his clock. “Malik said he has been worried about me as well. I just… I don’t remember what we shared. I don’t want to hurt him with the fact I can’t recall any of those memories.” 

   
 

“Then make new memories, child. Nothing stops you from bonding over new things.” advised the pooka sliding off their stool. 

   
 

Adam nodded and imitated them, the air was pleasantly filled with the soft aroma of spices. The aug followed the pooka, led mostly by the smell and distinct sound of people chatting in the kitchen. The two of them entered the room to the rest of the crew already sitting while Domitius was serving everyone a large portion of beef chilli from a large pot. Dusty hopped on a chair next to the giant and sniffed their meal eagerly. Adam walked closer and went to sit next to Pritchard. 

   
 

The decker raised an eyebrow at his approach. “Not staying with your best buddy, Jensen ?” An aug flicked on inside his brain and displayed a high level of annoyance. Adam flinched and closed his eyes with a grumble. “Something wrong ?” 

   
 

“No, no, I’m fine just… got startled by some aug.” 

   
 

Frank relaxed a little, quickly hiding his concern behind a frown. “Must be your HUD or something. Well, you better learn how to use your augs before you accidentally punch through a wall.” 

   
 

“I’ll be fine. Just need to get used to it.” 

   
 

Pritchard hummed and took a bite of his meal, Adam did the same. The strong taste flooded his mouth and made him sigh with relief. The group mostly focused on eating their food, interrupted by some light chatter coming from either Dusty or Malik. Adam wanted to talk with Frank but didn’t know how to start. Should he ask him what he had been up to on his computer or maybe that would be intrusive ? Maybe he could try to ask him about the stories Dusty had narrated but he suspected that wouldn’t help with his jealousy. The pooka had said bond over new things but the aug couldn’t tell what kind of things they could potentially bond over. 

   
 

“Adam ?” called Domitius from his seat. 

   
 

“Hm ? What is it ?” 

   
 

“Dusty told me you were feeling weak. Do you feel like working out with me after dinner ?” 

   
 

That was a good occasion, yes. “Sure. Would you like to come with us, Frank ?” 

   
 

“Uh ?!” uttered the startled decker. 

   
 

“That’s a good idea. You should get in shape, Frank.” added the giant. 

   
 

“My shape is fine, thank you !” 

   
 

“Wolf is not wrong, Snake. You often get in trouble because of your strength. It wouldn’t hurt to improve on that.” countered Voiceless. 

   
 

“I don’t _need_ strength ! I’m not a brute !” 

   
 

“It’s not about being a brute, Frank. It’s about being able to keep up with the others. I think that’s a good idea too.” 

   
 

“You too, Malik ?! And what about Dusty ! They’re even weaker than I am !” protested Pritchard pointing at the pooka. 

   
 

“First of all it’s not very kind to point out my weakness as a way to defend yourself and secondly I compensate by being fast and nimble. You may be the smartest of the group but when things go haywire it becomes difficult to keep you out of harm’s reach.” noted Dusty waving their fork. 

   
 

Frank groaned loudly and Adam regretted bringing this up. He just wanted to share something with the decker and instead had started a discourse on his physical aptitude which was the opposite of what he had wanted. “Sorry.” he whispered at Pritchard. 

   
 

“Whatever.” he grumbled back, angrily shoving food in his mouth. 

   
 

Adam looked down at his plate, eating slowly while everyone else was debating on their own workout techniques. They finished their meals and put their plates in the washing machine then Domitius came to Adam. 

   
 

“I’ll get you some work-out outfit. It’s probably too big but I’ll go buy you something later. Do you need something as well, Frank ?” 

   
 

“I’m fine. Just don’t expect me to be as happy as a flea in a doghouse.” grunted the decker before leaving the kitchen. 

   
 

Adam sighed and slumped his shoulders. So much for bonding. Domitius patted his shoulder. “It’s alright. He’s always like this. It won’t last.” 

   
 

Adam shrugged, he wasn’t so sure about this. He followed the giant out of the kitchen and to his room. The place seemed quite clean but very dark and a persistent smell hung inside. The aug could tell he had smelled it before but couldn’t remember where or when, this amnesia was really getting on his nerves. He stepped inside and something flicked in his eyes, suddenly he could see everything like he was standing in broad day light. He could see the large bed in the corner of the room, the sparse furniture, but mostly he could see the numerous scratches on the walls and floor, along with the thick collar linked to the wall by a heavy chain that was invisible in the room’s darkness. 

   
 

Domitius came back to him, handing out a sweatpant and a simple shirt. “Here. It should fit you.” 

   
 

“What’s that ?” asked Adam pointing at the leash. 

   
 

The giant looked at it and sighed. “Long story. I need it sometimes. For my own safety.” 

   
 

“You chain yourself up ?” 

   
 

He shrugged. “Not much else I can do about it. But it’s fine, I almost never remember when it happens. You should change. I’ll go see if Frank is still coming.” said Domitius, indicating this conversation was over. Adam watched him go, utterly puzzled by what the man meant by that. He looked down at the clothes in his hands. He was missing something and he wasn’t sure he had the right to intrude more than he already had. He let out a long breath and went to change in the bathroom, not much he could do about it. 

   
 

The shirt was fine even if it was still oversized but the sweatpants fit oddly. Adam had to tie the bottom of the legs to make sure he wouldn’t step on it. But considering the size of Domitius it wasn’t really surprising, the man probably bought his clothing from the ork or troll department. He hesitated to leave his current outfit in the bathroom since he had nowhere else to put it and decided it was probably better to drop it in Pritchard’s room so no one would take it while he was gone. 

   
 

Adam left and walked to the decker’s bedroom, Domitius and Frank were already there in workout outfits or what went the closest to it. Pritchard had his hair tied in a bun, swimming in a big metal band shirt with sweatpants that were probably used as pyjamas. The giant looked up and waved at him as he came closer. 

   
 

“I just need to drop this and we can go.” said Adam showing his change of clothes. Domitius nodded and stepped aside to let him in while Pritchard mumbled something under his breath. The three of them then left, led by the giant downstairs. He opened a double door and turned on the lights. 

   
 

Adam blinked a little as a large room lit up before him. It seemed like it had been meant as some storage room but everything there had been moved in a corner and replaced by various machines, dumbbells, punching-balls and treadmills. Where they had managed to scavenge all of that and bring it here was a mystery but Adam wasn’t going to complain. Domitius started to warm up while Pritchard apprehensively observed the equipment around him. 

   
 

“Shouldn’t you warm up first ?” asked Adam as the decker started fiddling with a treadmill. 

   
 

Pritchard shrugged. “I don’t know how to warm up. Does it matter ? I’ll be sore in the end anyway.” 

   
 

“It’s not about being sore. It’s about preventing cramps. Would you like to warm up with me ?” 

   
 

Frank looked unsure, eyeing the aug. “You don’t need to. I bet you don’t even have to warm up any more.” 

   
 

“Maybe. But I’d rather spend some time doing something I don’t need if it helps you.” 

   
 

This seemed to genuinely startle the raven-haired man, the thing in his head beeped again, showing embarrassment and offering to spray pheromones. “D-Don’t be silly, Jensen ! I can handle myself !” 

   
 

Adam hushed the HUD away. “Please, Francis. I’d hate it if you were to hurt yourself.” 

   
 

“… Frank.”  

   
 

“What ?” 

   
 

“You called me ‘Francis’. I told you my name was Frank.” said the decker softly. 

   
 

“Oh, uh… Sorry, I must have gotten mixed up-” 

   
 

“No, you didn’t. My actual name is Francis Wendell Pritchard. You… always called me Francis.” explained the decker, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. 

   
 

Adam looked at him, neither of them seemed to know where to stand. “I… uh. Can I keep calling you Francis ?” 

   
 

Pritchard huffed with exasperation. “Why would you want to ?” 

   
 

“I don’t know exactly but I think it feels right. I like the sound of your name.” 

   
 

Frank looked down, tapping the ground with the tip of his shoe for a moment before his greyish blue eyes looked up to his. “Fine. Show me.” 

   
 

“Hm ? Show you what ?” 

   
 

“How to warm up. Didn’t you say you would ?” 

   
 

Adam smiled. “Of course, Francis.” 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

Pritchard groaned as he pulled his weight up the traction bar once more. His shirt was soaked in sweat, his entire body was screaming in agony, he could swear there was stars dancing in front of his eyes, and his arms were trembling from the effort. 

   
 

“… and twenty ! You can let go now.” 

   
 

The decker dropped like a sack of flour only to be caught by the waist by Adam before he crashed on the floor. “Uuuuugh… I can’t take it any more ! Just kill me now ! Snap my neck ! It will be faster and painless !” 

   
 

The aug chuckled and helped him back on his feet, despite his prolonged rest he was faring better than the decker despite doing much more. “You did well, Francis. Let’s stretch before we go.” 

   
 

Domitius came closer, the giant had been training intensively and occasionally gave them a hand. “Leaving already ? You can stick around longer if you’d like, Adam.” 

   
 

“Yeah. I feel a little dizzy so I think I should not push it.” 

   
 

“You’re feeling unwell ? Why didn’t you say so sooner, Jensen ?!” barked Pritchard instantly recovering from his mind numbing workout session. 

   
 

“I’m fine. I think I’m just low on fat so I get light-headed easily for now.” 

   
 

“Let’s get you food once we’ve stretched then.” 

   
 

Adam nodded and helped Frank with stretching exercises, the decker almost moaning as he felt his muscles pull just the right way. Once they were all satisfied with their workout they finally left the room to return to the kitchen, Pritchard making sure everyone knew he was dragging his feet. Domitius rolled his eyes but didn’t comment. The giant seemed almost unbothered by their activity and if not for the ring of sweat clinging to the collar of his shirt he would look like he had just strolled out of bed. 

   
 

The decker went to slump on the closest chair while the tallest man went to rummage through the fridge’s content. He pulled out some yogurt then went to fetch a few bananas mumbling a vague curse when he noticed that most of them had started to rot. “Dusty ! You made the fruits rot again !” barked the giant while Adam and Frank started to dig in their yogurt. 

   
 

The pooka showed up with their head tilted to the side. “Did I ? Gee, my bad ! I don’t always do it on purpose you know ?” 

   
 

“I know but it’s tiresome to have all our fruits rotting before we can eat them.” rumbled Domitius managing to pull three decent bananas from the lot and handing two to his new workout buddies. 

   
 

“Gee ! You actually got Frank to work out ! Good job, Domi !” chirped the pooka upon noticing the decker’s soaked outfit.  

   
 

Pritchard vaguely scoffed at them. “I did it _once_. Now will you all stop nagging me ?” 

   
 

“Certainly not ! As long as you keep complaining about going in the air-ducts we’ll keep trying to get you in shape !” 

   
 

_About time! What did you do ? Get stuck in an air-duct on the way over?_  

   
 

“What ?” asked Adam turning to Frank. 

   
 

“Oh please. I’m not telling you about that story !” responded Pritchard. 

   
 

“No what you just said before. You told me something about me being stuck in an air-duct on my way to something.” 

   
 

“What are you talking about, Jensen ? I didn’t say a word.” 

   
 

Adam frowned. He could have sworn- 

   
 

“Did you just have a flashback, child ?” asked Dusty with a pleased grin. 

   
 

“You think I just… heard a memory ?” 

   
 

“I believe so. This is a good sign ! That means your memories may come back !” 

   
 

Adam sighed with relief. Pritchard quietly scrapped what was left of his yogurt. Amazing. He would remember everything. 

   
 

“You two should catch some rest, you did well today.” said Domitius finishing his banana. 

   
 

“Yeah, just let me shower first.” mumbled the decker getting up from his chair. Adam quickly finished his fruit and went after him. When he got in the bedroom Frank was picking up his change of clothes. 

   
 

“Are you alright, Francis ?” 

   
 

“Why wouldn’t I be ?” retorted Pritchard not even looking in his direction. 

   
 

“You left in a rush. Did I say something wrong ?” 

   
 

The decker gave him a long look and sighed. “No you didn’t. I’m tired after all that workout that’s all.” 

   
 

“You should take the bed then.” 

   
 

“Don’t be silly, Jensen. I can handle napping on a couch, it wouldn’t be the first time.” 

   
 

“You’ll be sore after all that exercise. I’ll be fine. Let’s just switch. It’s your room after all.” 

   
 

“If I need a babysitter you’ll be the first I’ll call, Jensen. Until then let me deal with this myself.” 

   
 

Adam sighed, how stubborn could Pritchard be ? “Listen, how about you rest a little on the bed while I take my shower ? How does that sounds ?” 

   
 

The decker’s lips went thin as he gave a hard look at the aug, then at the bed, and back to the aug. “And what tells me you won’t just not come back and take the couch instead ?” 

   
 

Adam rolled his eyes. “Fine, I promise I’ll come back within thirty minutes. And if I didn’t you’re free to come check up on me.” 

   
 

Pritchard hummed and finally nodded. “Alright. But I’m taking my shower first !” 

   
 

Jensen stepped aside from the door with a ‘be my guest’ gesture and the raven-haired man rushed out with a change under his arm. Adam watched him run past him as if he wasn’t begging him to end his suffering just a couple of minutes ago. He shook his head with a smile, at least he was no longer upset out of his mind about the workout session. Domitius was right, it didn’t last. He slumped on the bed, waiting for the decker to return. He should have asked him if he could borrow some of his books to keep himself busy, instead he decided to stretch some more. He had realised some muscles he had tried to stretch were no longer there and he had to find which exercises would still be of use to him. 

   
 

He was in the middle of his exercises when Pritchard returned. “There, your turn, Jensen.” The aug looked up and froze for a second. The decker was standing there in his boxers, some oversized shirt thrown over his body, a towel around his neck soaking the water dripping from his long dark hair falling on his shoulders. Frank raised an eyebrow. “Something’s wrong, Jensen ?” 

   
 

“Uh, yeah ! I just… realised I don’t have a towel.” improvised the ex-cop. Lame. He could do much better than that. 

   
 

But the decker seemed to fall for it. “Oh, right. There’s some spare under the sink. Just pick one.” he said pointing at the bathroom’s door. 

   
 

“Thanks, Francis...” mumbled the aug as he walked past the door. 

   
 

Why did he froze like a deer in the headlights ? He had just the strangest feeling upon seeing Pritchard in such a casual setting. Was it the hair ? Maybe he had never seen his hair undone ? He shook his head. Maybe it was just his brain being wacky again. He looked in the little cabinet under the sink and pulled out a blue towel. The air was still warm and humid, clearly the decker liked his showers burning hot.  

   
 

The mirror was covered in steam and Adam brushed it off. The man in the mirror he didn’t recognised. Messy strands of dark hair almost reaching his shoulders, gaunt cheeks, scruffy beard, inhuman eyes… He stumbled back. It felt so wrong. Everything was out of place. He couldn’t remember his own face but he was certain it was not _this._ The steam slowly took back its rights and blurred the picture once again. He breathed out slowly. He needed to do something about this… but for now getting clean was the priority. 

   
 

He took off the clothes Domitius had lent him and stepped into the bathtub, turning on the water. Soon the hot liquid slapped his skin and the thoughts poured down his skin with the flow. It took him a few minutes to relax. He rubbed the back of his neck then scratched his beard. He would ask Pritchard about getting it properly groomed. His eyes went to the side and he noticed the five neat little shelves in the corner. Apparently each member of the team had their own. 

   
 

Adam smiled, it was somewhat comforting to know they all had their own space. The aug hesitated to take someone else’s soap and shampoo but he didn’t exactly have much choice about it. He took the one he assumed to be Francis’ and poured some on his hand before scrubbing himself clean. The flow of water along his skin sent a much welcome relief through his muscles, he sighed deeply, allowing himself to relax for a few moments. It felt good coming back to life even with a part of himself missing. He turned off the water and stepped out of the bathtub. Drying himself with the towel and left it on his shoulders before throwing on his pants but renouncing to put on the rest. He chugged the workout outfit in the laundry basket and went back to the bedroom. 

   
 

No doubt Pritchard would be complaining about how long he took. He pushed the door open. “Hey, Francis. I’m ba-” Adam stopped and smiled. The decker was laying on the bed, his long hair spread on the pillow, his icy grey eyes closed, snoring softly. The aug closed the door behind him and walked toward the bed. He was sound asleep, probably drained after their session. Jensen gently pulled the blanket over him, careful not to wake him up. He considered going to sleep on the couch but somehow he thought that would make Frank angry so instead he settled on the other side of the bed, making sure there was a decent personal space between them. He didn’t have a blanket but he didn’t mind, the room was decently heated and the company was pleasant. 

   
 

He felt himself slowly falling into Morpheus’ embrace. 

   
 

“Good night, Francis.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this chapter done for a little while and forgot to post it, I'm sorry :')


	8. New Face, New Me

_> >>>>[Anyone has heard of The Oracle ? He's been offline for two days now it's unlike him.]<<<<< _

_-BlueButterfly_

_> >>>>[He's investigating something. Told me he would show up after three days.]<<<<< _

_-Nucl3arSnake_

_> >>>>[You sure he didn't OD on Psyche ? He had a real bad trip last time]<<<<< _

_-BlueButterfly_

_> >>>>[I have no idea, but don't count on me to check up on him for now. I'll wait for the heat to be off.]<<<<< _

_-Nucl3arSnake_

_> >>>>[Always the White Knight, are you ?]<<<<< _

_-BlueButterfly_

_> >>>>[You know me]<<<<< _

_-Nucl3arSnake_

  

 

* * *

  
  
  
Pritchard hummed to himself as he slowly roused from sleep. He felt warm and safe, something he hadn’t experienced in a while. He wormed himself further into the welcoming embrace of the blankets, he would stay like this for hours if he could. The numbness of his muscles was not painful, but instead almost a pleasant sensation. He could hear the soft purr of his computer nearby, the sound had always comforted him. Smiling to himself as he listened to the faint sound, he let his eyes close once again.   
  
   
   
  
Wait, how is the computer in this room. Wasn’t he supposed to be asleep on the couch ?   
  
   
   
  
He opened his eyes to see his bedroom barely lit by the glow of the machine. Son of a-… Adam must have found asleep and taken the couch ! He had specifically told him NOT to do that ! He pushed himself up with a grumble until he noticed the other body next to his. Adam was laying there, on his side, snoring so lightly he could barely hear him. The decker froze when he realised that he had no blanket or shirt over him, he couldn’t help himself but let his eyes follow the lines of his body, he sure was less muscular than he remembered but the aug was still robust, the lines of his muscles softened but still there along his chest and belly. His cheeks warmed up. What was he thinking again ? That was weird as hell.    
  
   
   
  
He clumsily tossed the blanket over the sleeping man and jumped off the bed, quick to get out to fetch himself some food. And coffee. A lot of coffee. The cafeteria was empty except for Domitius, chugging a large cup of coffee while reading the daily newspaper. Shadowrunners had a love-hate relationship with Picus news and their tendency to spin the events in their favour but it was still a good measuring tool to know how much their runs had gotten attention.   
  
   
   
  
“Anything about our run in the papers ?” asked the decker fetching himself a mug from the cupboard.   
  
   
   
  
“Not about our run. But about a ‘squat massacre in an abandoned LIMB clinic’.”   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard huffed as he came closer to grab the coffee pot. As he did Domitius sniffed his arm. “Hey ! What are you doing ?!” barked the decker stealing the pot away from the giant.   
  
   
   
  
“Someone used my soap,” said the taller man placidly. “Wanted to know if that was you.”   
  
   
   
  
“Oh… I think it must be Jensen. He doesn’t have stuff yet after all.”   
  
   
   
  
Domitius hummed. “I’ll go buy him some things this afternoon.”   
  
   
   
  
“Yeah. I’m sure he will appreciate it…” mumbled the decker pouring himself some coffee.   
  
   
   
  
He was about to ask the giant if he would need help when he was interrupted. “I noticed you didn’t sleep on the couch tonight,” His ears reddened instantly. “Neither did Adam.”   
  
   
   
  
“Y-Yeah, I just-… I fell asleep on the bed after my shower and he didn’t wake me up.” explained the decker. Dammit, couldn’t Jensen just wake him up instead of starting some gossip ?   
  
   
   
  
Domitius hummed and dropped the topic, resuming his reading. Pritchard sighed, thankfully the giant was not the most interested in those kind of topics. If it was Malik he wouldn’t hear the end of-   
  
   
   
  
“Fraaaaaaank ! What happened between you Jensen after that steamy workout session ? Did you have him carry you to bed ? Or maybe you were too cold and had to cuddle for warmth ?” teased the pilot wrapping her arm around his neck. He was blushing so much he felt like his head was about to explode.   
  
   
   
  
He shoved the prying limb away with an angry hiss. “This is NOT what happened ! I just fell asleep ! I’m not responsible for his total lack of boundaries !” protested the decker.   
  
   
   
  
But Malik still had a playful grin on her face. “Sure, sure. What do you think about that, Domi ? Is he lying ?”   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard cursed, couldn’t she let go of things sometimes ? “He’s not. He does not smell like my soap.” answered the giant without moving his eyes from the newspaper.   
  
   
   
  
Malik made a disappointed pouty face, couldn’t she have fun for once ? There was too little happening in that little team of theirs compared to the nest of Sarif Industries back in the day. “You’re no fun, Frank. Can’t you just try to have fun every once in a while ?”   
  
   
   
  
“My private life does not concern you ! And neither does Jensen’s !”   
  
   
   
  
She shrugged, giving up… for now. “Fine, fine. Just promise you’ll tell me first if something juicy happens.”   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard rolled his eyes. “I swear. Happy now ?”   
  
   
   
  
The pilot grinned and started the boiler for her tea. The decker ate his breakfast quietly, Dusty joined them, then Voiceless, thankfully the two other members of his team not bothering him with intrusive questions. Dusty did inquire on Jensen’s status during the workout session, probably because Domitius warned them about his dizziness, but didn’t question him on the fact they had shared the bed. After all the pooka was not the type to care about that kind of things. And they had been the one to suggest they share the bed to start with.   
  
   
   
  
The decker finished eating and got up before Malik decided to nag him again, walking back to his room. He quietly opened the door, Jensen was still asleep, he had rolled on his back, tangled in the blanket. He sighed softly and stepped inside, when the door clicked close the aug stirred awake with a soft grunt.   
  
   
   
  
“What time is it ?” rasped the man sitting himself up.   
  
   
   
  
“It’s about nine o’clock, Jensen.” answered Pritchard who started to go through his clothes to pick something up.   
  
   
   
  
Adam growled and pushed himself off the bed, stretching briefly. “Thanks… ‘ hope I didn’t snore too much.”   
  
   
   
  
“You didn’t… But you could have just woken me up instead of sleeping in the bed with me.”   
  
   
   
  
Adam chuckled. “You looked like you could use the bed. And you said you would be mad if I took the couch, so. Glad I didn’t wake you up,” Pritchard rolled his eyes and started to walk to the bathroom before the aug stopped him in his tracks. “Francis, wait !”   
  
   
   
  
The decker froze and looked at him. “Is something wrong, Jensen ?”   
  
   
   
  
“Well, not exactly. It’s just… I saw myself in the mirror yesterday and… I’d like to groom my beard and cut my hair. Could you help me ?”   
  
   
   
  
“Ah, yes. You could definitely use a cut and a shave,” mumbled the raven-haired man running a hand through his hair. “I just have a razor but I can ask Domitius if he has something to help. I don’t think I can cut your hair but Dusty cuts Malik and Domitius’ hair so they can probably give you a hand. I’ll go ask them.”   
  
   
   
  
“Don’t bother. I’ll talk to them myself.” replied the aug.   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard shrugged and mumbled a ‘fine’ then Adam left the room to get some food. The cafeteria smelled like bacon and toast, making his stomach rumble. Malik quickly noticed him and waved at him with a grin. “Hello, Jensen ! Slept well ?”   
  
   
   
  
“Fine, thanks. Yesterday’s workout did me some good.”   
  
   
   
  
The pilot chuckled. “Not just the workout, is it ? How is Pritchard doing ?”   
  
   
   
  
“He seemed fine as well,” answered Adam ignoring the innuendo. “Doesn’t snore as much as I had expected. How about you ?”   
  
   
   
  
Malik gave him a little pout. “Nothing to complain about, I guess.”   
  
   
   
  
“By the way, child !” peeped Dusty pulling their ruffled face out of their book. “Domitius and I are going out for shopping soon. Would you like to join us ?”   
  
   
   
  
The ex-cop scratched the back of his head and looked down. “I uh… I have nothing to pay with. I mean, maybe I do but I have no idea where.”   
  
   
   
  
“It’s fine, child ! That’s why we’re going to pay for you. It will be better if you have your own stuff. We’ll be looking for a desk as well so you can keep busy with your clocks !”   
  
   
   
  
Adam felt his heart twist a little in his chest, his breathing getting stuck in his throat. “I… Thank you. I don’t know how I can repay all of you.”   
  
   
   
  
“You don’t have to, child. Frank’s friends are our friends and that’s how we treat friends.”   
  
   
   
  
He nodded, his eyes stung and he was tempted to activate those eye shields to cover himself.   
  
   
   
  
“You coming then ?” asked Domitius handing him a mug of coffee. “You could use some fresh air.”   
  
   
   
  
Adam looked down at the cup, sure he craved to go outside and see the sun but for now he had other plans. “Actually… I wanted to cut my hair and take care of my beard before. But I’ll gladly come tomorrow.”   
  
   
   
  
“You don’t have to wait tomorrow, Jensen. Tonight we’re going out ! We’re going to enjoy ourselves and you better tag along ! No excuses !” intervened Malik giving him a firm pat on the back.   
  
   
   
  
“And we all dress night for parties. So you’ll need proper clothes for tonight,” noted Voiceless not even looking up from the newspaper. “But it’s true that a haircut wouldn’t hurt either.”   
  
   
   
  
“Speaking of which. Francis told me you had some stuff I could borrow. Is it okay if I take it while you’re gone ?”   
  
   
   
  
“Sure, child ! Help yourself !”   
  
   
   
  
“It’s under the sink, in the red kit. Just clean everything once you’re done with it.” said Domitius as he pushed a full plate of eggs and bacon in Jensen’s hands.   
  
   
   
  
“Isn’t it supposed to be your food ?”   
  
   
   
  
“Not any more. I’ll cook something else.”   
  
   
   
  
Damn it. “Thanks… I appreciate it.” mumbled the aug taking a seat with his mug and meal next to Malik. The pilot commented that he looked better and gave him friendly pats on the back. The two of them chatted a bit while Adam filled his stomach with the large amount of breakfast that was clearly intended to feed the giant and not an average sized man like him but didn’t feel like leaving anything behind regardless.   
  
   
   
  
Dusty and Domitius left for the shopping trip and Malik decided to fix up the bird. Voiceless on the other hand seemed to be content reading in the cafeteria while snacking so Jensen left her to that and get his hair done.   
  
   
   
  
In the bathroom he found the red box where Domitius had told him to look and opened it up. Barber scissors, clippers, combs, everything to properly cut hair. Of course Adam had never cut hair, or at least not that he could remember. He must have watched hairdressers do it so it must not be that complicated, right ? He pulled the stool in front of the mirror and started working on himself.   
  
   
   
  
Coordinated his movements in the mirror was much more arduous than he had expected, more than once he nearly sent the scissors inside his eyes or ear trying to get them to snip a stand of hair. Thick locks started to fall on his bare shoulders and onto the floor. He frowned, this definitely was much harder than it seemed. He growled and muttered under his breath as he missed yet another attempt. No matter how many times he tried he would not getting correctly and his hair length was becoming dangerously short on the side he was working on. Maybe he should have started with the beard instead…   
  
   
   
  
He was in the middle of a struggle when Voiceless spoke from the bathroom’s door. “Look over here.”   
  
   
   
  
“Uh ?” He turned to face the elf and was greeted by the sight of her cellphone camera snipping a picture of his half-cut scalp and bewildered stare.   
  
   
   
  
“Thanks, you can keep going.” said the decker walking away without any further explanations, leaving behind a very confused and vaguely embarrassed Jensen behind.   
  
   
   
  
Voiceless walked straight to Pritchard’s room and entered without knocking. “Snake, your boyfriend is ruining his hair. You should go help him.”   
  
   
   
  
“GOODIE, Voice ! KNOCK before you come in ! And if you’re referring to Jensen I will have you know that he is NOT my BOYFRIEND !”   
  
   
   
  
Voiceless looked up from her phone, making eye contact with the other decker and remaining quiet for a few seconds without showing the slightest hint of emotion. “… sure.” she replied before looking back to her phone.   
  
   
   
  
“Don’t give me that face ! I TOLD YOU I was ALREADY asleep when he decided this would be a MARVELLOUS idea to-… what is it ?” he interrupted himself when the elf shoved her screen in front of his nose. The device display the picture of Adam, sitting shirtless on a too small stool, eyes wide like an owl, a pair of scissors in one hand, a comb in the other, half of his head an absolute war zone of hair fighting to keep the remains of their decency. Pritchard cursed and ran to the bathroom. “JENSEN ! STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW !”   
  
   
   
  
Adam frowned at the second interruption, couldn’t he get this done once and for all ? “What is it, Francis ?”   
  
   
   
  
“What it is is that you’re going to get bald if you keep going like that so drop the scissors,” barked the decker actually snatching them out of the carbon hands. “And come with me before it gets any worse !”   
  
   
   
  
Adam grumbled but complied, allowing the other man to drag him back into his bedroom.   
  
   
   
  
“Sit here and don’t move ! I need to look it up before I do anything.” Adam nodded and sat obediently in the seat in front of the desk. Frank sighed and ruffled through the aug’s hair, trying to make out something of the mess. Everything was uneven, way too short compared to the haircut the ex-cop used to sport. He shook his head and turned to his computer, looking for ‘what to do when your dumbass roommate decided to cut his hair on his own ?’. He brushed away the comments about running to an actual hairdresser and started looking at the various tutorials on how to save someone’s scalp from a complete shave.   
  
   
   
  
The decker clumsily took Dusty’s scissors and turned his attention to Adam’s scalp. He inhaled deeply and brushed a hand through his hair. It felt… soft. Much softer than he had expected at least. He couldn’t help but repeat the movement a second time… then a third. Adam let out a soft hum which startled the decker away. Get yourself together, Frank ! The tech focused and made the first cut, watching the strand of hair falling down Jensen’s back. Maybe he could do this.   
  
   
   
  
He focused on his work, taking his time to get it right. It was much harder than Dusty made it seem or maybe the fact Adam had already made an unsuccessful attempt beforehand made it much more complicated. His fingers combed through the dark hair gently, sniping locks of hair carefully. Sometimes Adam would breath a little louder than before and Francis would freeze mid snip before resuming. He enjoyed the silence they were both sharing and this sort of… intimacy ? Maybe it was what it meant. The concept had always been very foreign for Pritchard after all. But here he felt good. He moved Jensen’s head to see the sides of his haircut. It seemed to be cut shorter than he remembered but after all Adam himself couldn’t remember his haircut.    
  
   
   
  
He then noticed that the aug was trying to look at him without moving his head. His cheek resting against the decker’s palm. “What is it, Jensen ?”   
  
   
   
  
“Nothing. You just looked so focused. It was nice.”   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard frowned, trying to hide the blush slowly creeping to his cheeks. “Well, I have to be, Jensen ! Wouldn’t want to make you look like a monk.”   
  
   
   
  
Adam chuckled. “I would rather not, thank you,” Adam finally looked away and Pritchard moved his head back straight. “Are you going to wear something special tonight, by the way ?”   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard scoffed. “Why should I ? Did Sarif invited us to a party and I wasn’t told ?”   
  
   
   
  
“No ? Malik told me there was some night-out or something. Something about celebrating successful runs.”   
  
   
   
  
Frank cursed. The post-run night-out, right. With all that happened he had forgotten about it. “Yeah. I guess now that you’re awake and not about to faint we can do it. Maybe you can fit in Domitius’ shoes or mine.”   
  
   
   
  
“Oh, Domitius and Dusty went out to buy me clothes and personal stuff.”   
  
   
   
  
“… You let Domitius and Dusty pick your clothes ?”   
  
   
   
  
“I shouldn’t have ?” asked the aug who sounded now genuinely concerned.   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard sighed. “Let’s say Dusty is not even allowed to pick their own clothes. They’re a fashion disaster and not in the good way. At least Domitius is with them so you should have some decent clothes,” Adam shifted uncomfortably in the seat and Pritchard vaguely regretted bringing up the topic of Dusty’s fashion sense. “I’m sure it will be fine. If you don’t like it we can try to get a refund and pick you better clothes.”   
  
   
   
  
“It’s fine. I’m already grateful for all the things you’re doing for me. I’ll find a way to pay you back.”   
  
   
   
  
“Psht. Forget it. You don’t owe us a thing. You’ve already done enough. If you didn’t step up the Incident might have lasted forever.”   
  
   
   
  
Adam hummed quietly. Why couldn’t he remember what had happened that day before it all went down ? He was starting to have vague glimpses of his past, voices mostly, but nothing about the recent events. “Maybe. I don’t think I did it for a reward. And since I can’t even recall what the Incident was like I can’t tell how bad it must have been.”   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard kept quiet for a little while, unsure if he should tell him the truth. He would learn it at some point. By remembering or by seeing its effect in the streets. “It was a bloodbath, Jensen. I was in my office when it went down. I had warned the augmented Sarif employees not to get the new biochip but for some it was already too late. When it hit, well… Hell broke loose. Everyone had to barricade themselves in their offices, people were jumping out of windows, the streets were on fire, the police shoot everything that run on sight… if you didn’t stop it it would have been much worse.”   
  
   
   
  
The silence that followed was cut only by the snip of the scissors through Jensen’s thick hair. He ruffled the locks to try to get it into a semblance of what Jensen’s hairstyle was like, it was much shorter than what he had aimed for but thankfully hair grows back. Overall it looked better than he had expected. He left the scissors on his desk and started to dig through Domitius’ gear.   
  
   
   
  
“I think I’m done with your hair, Jensen. I’ll do your beard now.”   
  
   
   
  
Adam ran a hand through his hair and turned the chair around to face the decker and the second their eyes met Pritchard knew this would prove much harder than cutting his hair. With Adam facing him he could not avoid eye contact and was always drawn back to the gold circle shimmering inside the aug’s irises. He swallowed and forced his eyes back to the jaw, getting stuck a second on the other man’s lips before he managed to touch his face. Jensen closed his eyes at the contact and Pritchard finally let out the breath he was holding.   
  
   
   
  
He traced the line of the jaw under the thick layer of beard, he couldn’t properly remember the looks of the beard and honestly it annoyed him senseless that Jensen could not have decided to style his dumb face in a more conventional way. He started working carefully, pretty certain he was going to mess it up somehow. Adam would have to get used to a less scruffy look. He took down most of it, his other hand almost held against the ex-cop’s jaw or cheek to keep him steady. Thankfully Jensen kept his eyes and mouth closed making it easier for the decker to focus. He bumped several times on the eye shields ports but the other man didn’t commented on his clumsiness. Instead moving slightly to allow him a better angle to slide his fingers along his face.   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard brushed the cut bits away and winced. It definitely didn’t look like Jensen’s usual grooming… something missing. And Pritchard hated not knowing what exactly. With most of the scruff gone his scars were also more visible, especially the two lines on his cheek. The decker carefully brushed the pale marks on the skin. Were that ones from the attack on Sarif Industries or Panchea ? He couldn’t recall. He looked down and put his tools back into the neat box.   
  
   
   
  
“I’m done, Jensen. You can go look at yourself in a mirror.”   
  
   
   
  
The aug opened his eyes and ran a smooth black hand over his face. “Thanks, Francis. I’ll do that.”   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard shrugged and got himself busy cleaning the mess of hair littering his floor and chair. Jensen left the bedroom straight to the bathroom and took a good look at himself. It wasn’t too bad for a first time he guessed. He wasn’t exactly sure it was the style he would have gone for but it still felt considerably better than his previous face. He ran a hand through the short strands on his nape with a soft sigh of relief. Much better.   
  
   
   
  
“Hmm. You should have definitely gone to Snake instead of taking this on by yourself. Some fights you just can’t win.” noted Voiceless in the door opening. Damn she was quiet.   
  
   
   
  
Adam shrugged not looking in her direction, taking a glance at his profile instead. “Didn’t want to bother him. He’s done enough already, and he must have some work of his own.”   
  
   
   
  
“Snake is always working on something. If you have something to do with him you are bound to bother him, doesn’t mean he won’t accept or even enjoy what you are offering him.”   
  
   
   
  
“Why are you telling me this ?”   
  
   
   
  
“Snake is my friend. And so are you. I’m going for a smoke. Why don’t you tag along ?” offered the elf, flashing the pack of red cigarettes.   
  
   
   
  
He may not have hands of flesh any more but Jensen could feel the tingle invading his fingers at the sight. So he had been a smoker. Good to know. “Sure. I don’t see why not.”   
  
   
   
  
Voiceless smiled and walked away, tailed by the taller man. She walked them to the helipad and sat on the small stairs in front of the door. Adam noticed Malik laying under the VTOL, among the clicks and rattle of her tools he could also hear the sound of her voice singing unknown lyrics approximatively.   
  
   
   
  
He smiled and took a spot next to Voiceless, the decker was already lighting her cigarette before handing Jensen the whole pack. “There. Just don’t smoke inside. Domitius is very sensitive to the smell.”   
  
   
   
  
“Thanks. I’ll remember.” replied the aug pulling out a little tube and casually putting it between his lips. Yes, definitely smoked before. Voiceless gave him a lighter different from the one she used to lit her own cigarette so Adam supposed this one was meant to be a gift as well. “I’ll have to get some credits if I want to buy my own stuff in the future.”   
  
   
   
  
“Already have an idea in mind ? I was told you were the resourceful type but having a plans two days after a year long coma is pretty impressive.”   
  
   
   
  
“I don’t really have a plan, I just don’t want to be a burden forever. You already took more risks than necessary by helping me out, I shouldn’t push my luck too far.”   
  
   
   
  
Voiceless shrugged, taking a drag of her cigarette. “We’re not going to toss you in the streets like that. Snake and Fly Girl would never let us live it down. At least stay until you’ve recovered some memories or have a job lined up for you.”   
  
   
   
  
Adam hummed, he probably didn’t have a house any more after being declared dead for one year and wasn’t really excited about experiencing homelessness. “Yeah… I don’t suppose you have some leads for me, do you ?”   
  
   
   
  
The elf took her time to reply, calmly smoking next to the man. “Well, best option for an aug with your equipment would be shadowrunning now. Cops won’t hire augmented people anymore. Most Corporations are wary of us as well. Maybe Red Errands or eventually Lone Star would take you in but you’ll have to expect to get less missions because employers won’t take your profile.”   
  
   
   
  
The ex-cop looked down at his carbon-fiber arms, impossible to hide away with their flashy design. Made to attract attention. No doubt the person who made them didn’t have in mind the potential fall of augmentation technology. He flexed his fingers and watched the gold gleam under the winter sunlight. He would have to give it a thought.   
  
   
   
  
A clear sky above their heads, but no wind could get inside the courtyard where the helipad had been built. Yet Jensen wished he could feel the bite of the cold on his remaining skin, just to feel more awake. Something told him that walking in the cold was something he had enjoyed once. Voiceless flicked her lighter again, lighting a second cigarette, the little flame reflecting in her augmented eye. The two of them smoked in companionable silence, lulled by Malik’s song and the rattle of her tools clicking under the VTOL. They shared a few smoked together and Adam found the quiet presence somewhat comforting. The elf may not be very talkative but she did seem to keep an eye out for him and he could assume she would do the same for the members of her team. Knowing Francis and Malik were in good hands warmed his chest a little.   
  
   
   
  
He was through his third smoke when Malik extracted herself from under the VTOL, headphones glued onto her ears. Oil smudged onto her face as she got up and caught sight of them.   
  
   
   
  
“Oh shi-… Damn you, guys ! Warn me when you decide to come here ! You nearly gave me a heart attack !” squeaked the pilot nearly dropping her tools.   
  
   
   
  
Voiceless chuckled, smoke escaping from her mouth and nose. “Yeah, well. You were so focused we didn’t want to break the spell.”   
  
   
   
  
“Yeah, yeah. By the way, the new look suits you, Jensen ! Makes you look younger !” noted Malik pointing at his spiky hair.   
  
   
   
  
Adam smiled and ran a hand through them. “Yeah. Francis helped me cut it down.”   
  
   
   
  
“I didn’t know he could cut hair ! Maybe I should ask him to do my haircut next time.” she laughed and came to sit next to them. “It’s good to have you back, Jensen. I know I already said it before but I mean it.”   
  
   
   
  
“Thanks. Even if I don’t remember yet it’s good to know I have people I can trust.”   
  
   
   
  
Malik nodded, staring quietly at the VTOL. Adam and Voiceless had stopped smoking, the elf had pulled out her phone and was fiddling with it, playing one of those addictive games quietly. The pilot and the elf both leaned against his shoulders. Adam toyed with his new lighter, a faint smile on his lips. Snowflakes started falling from the sky. He decided to raise up his body temperature for the two women, making sure they would not be bothered by the weather.   
  
   
   
  
They remained like that for long minutes before a trap door opened and both Dusty and Domitius came out of the secret passage, loaded with heavy bags.   
  
   
   
  
“Hello, children ! How are you all doing ?” chirped the pooka trotting towards them with a bright smile.   
  
   
   
  
“It’s all good, Dusty. What did you get ?” answered Voiceless not even lifting her eyes away from her phone.   
  
   
   
  
Dusty made a pleased noise and dropped their bags on the floor and digging through them. “We got our new secret-HQ-mate some stuff and-… There ! I looked everywhere to find you something like that !” they said pulling out a flashing yellow T-shirt with some sort of cartoonish ostrich-like bird drawn on it.   
  
   
   
  
“Uh… Thanks. What is it ?” asked Adam utterly confused about why so much effort would be required to find this shirt specifically. He just knew this was absolutely not the type of clothing he would have worn by choice. Both Malik and Voiceless snorted at the improbably sight.   
  
   
   
  
“It’s a chocobo shirt ! We didn’t know the kind of things you wore before so we took the type of stuff Frank would have, and those are his favourite game’s mascot !”   
  
   
   
  
Adam stared at the pooka a few seconds, bewildered, before letting out a wheezing giggle that quickly turned into a frank laughing fit. Dusty grinned proudly, visibly delighted their find had had the desired effect.   
  
   
   
  
“You should try them out, Adam,” intervened Domitius. “We had to guess your size, we took something a bit bigger since you lost some weight.”   
  
   
   
  
The aug caught his breath, his shoulders still shaking with laughter. “Yeah… Sure. I’ll do just that.” He got up and grabbed the bags the giant handed to him and left the helipad a smile stuck on his lips. He couldn’t exactly kick Frank out of his room to change so he headed to the bathroom once again.   
  
   
   
  
He dropped the bags in the bathtub, locked the door, and started to strip. He started digging through the bags, he had expected worse from Frank’s comments, sure there was a few fancy colours or surprising textures but it was not as clownish as he had expected. He first tried on the shoes they had bought him, a pair of boots and some leather elegant shoes. The latter probably for tonight.    
  
   
   
  
The boots felt a little tight around his ankle but he did not really have to worry about chaffing any more and decided it would be good enough. They went pretty high, up to his mid leg, but were sturdy and he suspected they were steel-toed. Maybe Domitius had picked those up for him. He switched for the party shoes, black as well, a modern silver pattern on the side. Easy to pair with anything. Adam ran a finger to the side, disappointed when he realised his tactile perception was not precise enough to feel the pretty lines under his pads.   
  
   
   
  
He put the pair back in the box with a soft sigh, the loss of his sense of fine touch made his shoulders feel heavier, as if realising how much they had weighted on his remaining flesh all this time. He hushed away the thoughts and picked up several pants, he started sorting them out before trying out anything, putting aside the ones with odd shapes or funky patterns and colours. Some looked… interesting, he knew it would not have been something he would have picked up himself but they were curious enough to pique his interest. One was tight-fitting pants with neon purple cybernetic patterns running down the left side, another was loose jeans with buckles falling on the side of its hips, and the last one was pants for augs, cut right above the knee, two thin golden stripes on each sides.   
  
   
   
  
He put them in the middle, considering trying them on. He did the same thing for shirts, once again selecting the ones he was certain to wear, the ‘the decision is up to the jury’ ones, and the ones too goofy to even be seen in them. He started properly trying the ones he had agreed on, Dusty and Domitius seemed to have a good eye for sizes. It was indeed a little too large but he would grow into them once he got back in shape. He noticed a fair amount of leather clothing and remembered that Dusty and Domitius had based their choices on Pritchard’s own style. The thought made him chuckle. Still he didn’t dislike it. Some things were a little to bright to his taste. A lot of purples and oranges when himself preferred blacks and golds, but it felt comfortable and practical. He could move easily in them and the fabric was robust. There was too many pockets he knew he would not really use given their arrangement. He preferred having concealed pockets inside his jacket or coat rather than hanging on the side of his pants where he could not reach them easily.   
  
   
   
  
Still it would do until he could buy something himself. He started packing the clothing in the bags but hesitated upon watching the ones he had refused to try on. Amongst them the chocobo shirt Dusty had chosen. He took the yellow piece of cloth between his hands and looked at the smiling bird strapped with a saddle. A chuckle shook his shoulders as an idea popped into his mind.   
  
   
 

* * *

  
   
   
  
“Francis, can you tell me what you think about this ? Is it suitable for the night out ?” asked Adam standing in front of the bedroom.   
  
   
   
  
“It’s not a fancy place, Jensen. You don’t have to worry about being refused entrance unless you really look like a hobo.” replied the decker not even looking up from his computer.   
  
   
   
  
“Francis, please ? I just want to make sure.”   
  
   
   
  
Pritchard sighed loudly, he would never be able to finish this program if everyone kept interrupting him. “Fine, Jensen. What is so impor-...” The decker froze, jaw hanging, brain giving him the equivalent of a blue screen of death, the raven-haired man suspected that this must be what being jacked out by force must feel like.   
  
   
   
  
Jensen was posing in front of him, one arm raised-up leaning against the door frame, the other hand on his hip, a bright grin on his lips, and his eyebrow wiggling suggestively. But the pose wasn’t the thing that sent his brain into a confusion overload. The aug was wearing a flashy yellow shirt, above it an improbable multicolour sequin jacket, and a high-waisted shorts and his legs squeezed in tight purple leggings.   
  
   
   
  
“How does it look ?” asked Adam turning around, flashing the jacket as he did. “Think they would let me in ?”   
  
   
   
  
The decker opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to work a sound out for a few seconds. His eyes trailing along the aug’s legs before guiltily moving back up to his face. “Th-this looks ridiculous, Jensen ! Why is it you’re wearing all this ?! Trying to have someone shoot you on sight for your terrible fashion sense ?!”   
  
   
   
  
The other man shook his head. “I just wanted to make you laugh, Francis. Or at least smile.”   
  
   
   
  
The decker felt his cheeks burn up with embarrassment. “W-well it’s very funny, Jensen. But I’d rather see you dressed properly...” he mumbled apologetically.   
  
   
   
  
Adam smiled. “Very well. I’ll be right back then.”   
  
   
   
  
Frank watched him go in his atrocious outfit and cursed himself mentally what was wrong with him ? Couldn’t he see a joke when it was slapped on his face ? He sighed and resumed typing, hoping Adam wouldn’t take his outburst too personally. He clicked on his keyboard for a little while until a finger tapped his shoulder.   
  
   
   
  
The decker jumped. About to bark before he recognised the aug standing next to him. Once again the raven-haired man froze. Adam was clad in some tight grey pants, an asymmetric golden shirt with floral patterns that nicely assorted with his augs covered by a black long coat hanging open above his navel. “I think it would fit as well with the coat you’ve kept. What do you think, Francis ?”   
  
   
   
  
“Uh… I… uh...”   
  
   
   
  
“Francis ? You’re okay ?” asked the ex-cop looking genuinely concerned for the petrified decker.   
  
   
   
  
“Y-Yeah ! Of course I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be ?! And I don’t know, Jensen. I’m not the kind to be interested in fashion. You should ask Voiceless or Malik if you want a better opinion.” retorted Pritchard snapping back to reality.   
  
   
   
  
Adam chuckled. “Sure, Francis, sure. I’ll leave you to your coding.” he said as he walked out of the room.   
  
   
   
  
“Jensen ! Wait !”   
  
   
   
  
The aug turned around, looking surprised. “Something’s wrong ?”   
  
   
   
  
“N-no. I mean… You’re looking good, Jensen. I’m sure the other will say so as well.”   
  
   
   
  
Adam blinked a few times then softened into a smile. “Thank you, Francis. Take care of yourself.”   
  
   
  
https://www.deviantart.com/demonhunterjoan/art/DE-street-duds-629001962  (the art that inspired me for the clothing Jensen wears)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank Aledbr for supporting me and helping me with my writer, you're a real sweetheart <3


	9. I haven't forgotten you

**> >>>>[TheOracle account deactivated]<<<<< **

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing Pritchard felt was dull pain in his brain, like someone was trying to mix the insides of his skull with a wooden spoon. He tried to open his eyes and despite how low the light was in his bedroom it felt like being stabbed in the eyeballs with a sharp needle. He slapped his hands on his face with a painful groan. He tried to piece up the events of last night, most of it was a blur. 

   
 

He remembered leaving with the crew to their favourite bar, a prohibition bar hidden under a pizza place. They took a drink… maybe a dozen of them. They got kicked out as usual, Pritchard remember singing bad songs and his sore throat seemed to confirm this. Did they hit the karaoke again ? He did not even know where the karaoke was only that when he was drunk with the crew he would magically end up there and get even more drunk until everything is even harder to piece out. 

   
 

He tried to remember what happened between the singing and finding himself back in bed. He vaguely remembered being carried there. He tried to open his eyes again. More carefully this time, and looked around. He was almost fully clothed, his shoes were next to the bed and his jacket was on the back of his seat and he was certain he had not been the one to put it there. His eyes drifted to his nightstand and noticed the bottle of water and the glass with aspirin waiting inside. 

   
 

He slowly uncurled his arm to grab the glass and bottle without moving his pounding head. The sizzling sound of the pills drilled in his eardrums and he stopped it by chugging the water the second the pill had finished dissolving. He dropped the glass back where it was and pulled the blanket back over his head. Everything would have been fine if he didn’t feel stirring and someone rolling in the bed next to him. 

   
 

“Already awake ?” asked Adam sleepily next to him. 

   
 

“Why are you-… ouch !” the decker groaned and laid back in bed holding his head. “Why are you in my bed _again_ ?” 

   
 

“Because I knew you were going to yell at me if I slept on the couch. So I slept here,” explained the aug not moving from his spot. “You hogged on the blanket all night by the way.” 

   
 

“It’s _my blanket_ ! I’ll hog onto it if I want to !” snapped back Pritchard clinging to the said blanket even if Adam wasn’t making any attempt to get it back. “And I’m going to yell at you even if you didn’t sleep on the couch ! What is it with you sleeping in other people’s beds ?” 

   
 

The aug chuckled behind his back and the decker finally pushed himself to roll on the other side and face the other man, trying to look as annoyed as he could. Maybe he should just roll onto the floor rather than stay on the same mattress as Adam but his head pounded too much to move any more. “You’re going to yell at me anyway, might as well be comfy.” 

   
 

Pritchard rolled his eyes. And here he had been concerned about sleeping next to Adam while he was unconscious. Apparently it did not seem to be something that bothered the aug even the slightest. “Why are you still there then ? I doubt you’re suffering from hangover.” 

   
 

“Because I just woke up. Would you like some coffee maybe ? I could fetch you a cup.” 

   
 

The decker scoffed and pushed himself up. “I’m _fine_ , Jensen. I can fetch my own coffee myself.” Getting up proved to be more tedious than expected and required him to move extremely slowly which made the aug chuckle as he swiftly got up and trotted out of the room. Pritchard grumbled as he clumsily stumbled out of his bedroom, shielding his eyes from the light. 

   
 

“Gee, did Adam tossed you out of the bed, child ? Usually we don’t see you before dinner.” chirped Dusty from their spot on the kitchen counter. As usual the pooka seemed annoyingly unbothered by hangover and the decker suspected they had a secret spell to cure it and just didn’t share it to anyone. 

   
 

“I’m hungry and need coffee. It’s not _that_ exceptional.” scoffed Pritchard blindly looking for the coffee machine until he realised the pot was missing. He turned around to see Domitius half slumped on the table drinking about a liter of coffee straight from it with a scowl on his face. “Domitius, I’m going to need the pot.” 

   
 

The giant answered with a low growl and taking another sip of the coffee pot, not even opening his eyes. 

   
 

“Maybe you should renounce to coffee and get tea instead, child.”  

   
 

“I want coffee. Can’t you talk to him to get him to let me have a cup at least ?” 

   
 

“I know when the battle is lost. And there is no way for me to win this one until the hangover has passed.” chuckled pooka. 

   
 

Pritchard grumbled again, refusing to drink tea and settled for some of Voiceless’ orange juice instead. Adam was already sat down and stuffing himself with an insane amount of cereals. The decker was quite pleased there was no rent to pay in a squat since that would definitely make it easier for the crew to feed the aug until he could throw in something for food as well. 

   
 

He had chugged about half the bottle when its owner came into the cafeteria. Her hair an indescribable bushy mess that fell down her shoulders. She rasped something that sounded like ‘hi’ and went to the fridge before her eyes squinted on the bottle next to Pritchard. She made a grumbling sound and grabbed the bottle of vodka from the fridge and took a shot. 

   
 

“You do know curing hangover with more alcohol rarely works, right, child ?” 

   
 

“Yes, but someone is currently drinking my cure.” huffed the elf taking a second shot before dropping the bottle back in the fridge. 

   
 

“I can relate.” retorted the other decker still drinking the orange juice. 

   
 

Adam rolled his eyes but didn’t comment. Voiceless started to prepare some obscure hangover preparation when Pritchard’s phone started to ring loudly, making all of them minus Dusty groan their annoyance. The decker pulled out his phone to see who had dared contact him on a hangover day. David Sarif. He groaned louder and picked up the call. 

   
 

“Yeah, David, listen. If you want to visit now is not the right ti-” 

   
 

 _Frank ! You’re here, good, good. Listen, I have a job for you, it’s pretty urgent. Is there anywhere we can discuss this privately ?_  

   
 

The decker groaned. “I’ll set up a private tunnel for tomorrow and-” 

   
 

 _No, not tomorrow ! I need your help for tonight !_  

   
 

“Tonight ?! We need to do preparation before a run ! We can’t just jump in blindly !” 

   
 

 _Really ? Adam never really needed preparation._  

   
 

“What do you think Jensen did during his hours of travel ? And even so _I_ did most of the job from afar by guiding him ! Plus Jensen is a one-man army ! We need at least two days of preparation before hitting a run !” 

   
 

The aug looked up from his cereal bowl at the mention of his name and so did the rest of the team. 

   
 

 _I’m sorry, I had no idea… Do you think you can make it work ? I believe someone will try to kill me tonight !_  

   
 

Pritchard dug his fingers inside his eye sockets. That’s why he hated clients who didn’t know the Shadows etiquette. “I’ll try something. I’ll contact you later.” 

   
 

“Something’s wrong ?” asked Adam with concern in his voice. 

   
 

“I can’t tell yet… I got a call from Sarif. He thinks his life is in danger and asked us for an escort run.” 

   
 

Voiceless hissed and gave him a nasty look. The kind of look that said I-knew-he-would-be-trouble. “That won’t do it. We need preparation.” 

   
 

“Maybe some of our ‘colleagues’ could take the run, child ? I recall Frank saying his former employer paid well after all.” asked Dusty jumping off the counter. 

   
 

“I don’t know anyone who would jump into action without a minimum of preparation but I guess I can try.” sighed the elf returning to her room, abandonning her half-done preparation behind. 

   
 

Frank rubbed his aching temples with a long sigh while an uncomfortable silence settled in the cafeteria. 

   
 

“What are you going to do if Voiceless finds no one ?” asked Adam breaking the heavy stillness. 

   
 

“I don’t know… We’re not in shape but we can’t let him potentially get killed. I know him going around has raised suspicion but I haven’t heard about anything that would put him on a blacklist. So it’s probably nothing. I’ll have to look it up.” 

   
 

The aug hummed, frowning at this. The decker did not really reassure him. Besides him and Dusty everyone was hangover, Domitius was still completely irresponsive, Malik was not up yet, Voiceless had chugged more alcohol before the phone call, and Pritchard was still holding his head between his hands and was visibly in a lot of pain. 

   
 

He could only hope that Voiceless would find someone to take the run. He finished his cereals and got up. Dusty hopped off the counter and trotted after him. “Since we might be busy this afternoon, do you mind if we start our check-up now, child ?” 

 

“Sure.” mumbled the aug halfheartedly as he followed the pooka to their room. He sat automatically on the examination table while Dusty dug through their mess to pick up whatever they would need for the check-up with their usual smile on their lips. 

   
 

“How aren’t you worried ?” finally blurted Adam as they hopped toward him. 

   
 

“What about ?” 

   
 

“That run with Sarif,” he wasn’t sure if the pooka was genuinely this carefree or just leading him on. “The others are clearly not in shape for this. It could turn very badly.” 

   
 

“Oh, that thing. Well yes, it is indeed a complicated case. You see, we don’t usually take escort missions to start with.” 

   
 

“Why not ?” asked the aug with a frown. 

   
 

“Well, our team is not exactly optimised for escort missions. Sure, Domi is a force of nature and can take down most threats that can be thrown at us but besides that ? My magic sure is useful but most of my spells have a large area of action, not the kind of things you use in close confines or when your teammates are likely to get hit, same with my explosives. And two deckers ? It’s useful for infiltration and theft but not when fighting is almost always certain. Sure, Voiceless is a decent sniper to keep an eye on the team from afar but she can only cover the places with an open view, and Frank is an absolute disaster when he’s not in front of a computer, I’m genuinely surprised he didn’t got shot, stabbed, burnt, knocked out or-… Is everything alright, child ? You’re very pale all of the sudden.” 

   
 

Adam forced himself to get a hold of himself. This was going to end badly, it couldn’t be otherwise. Too little preparation, a team too unbalanced, and Frank would basically be a sitting duck… “I’m fine, I’m fine… But you can’t tell this run is not a terrible idea. You should turn it down, or tell Sarif to stay locked up until it’s safe !” 

   
 

Dusty shook their head with a sad smile. “Oh, child. People who find themselves asking runners for an escort rarely do so if they could simply wait it out. I am certain David has some event he must attend that will force him out of his den no matter what. If Voiceless can’t find a team interested in a rushed run then he will have no one watching his back. 

   
 

The ex-cop remained quiet, jaw clenched, eyes set on the ground. “Then, maybe I should help you. I could give you some edge, I could-” 

   
 

“I’ll have to stop you right there, child. You’re absolutely not in shape for this, you get dizzy during effort, you still haven’t recovered your memories, and we don’t know for sure people aren’t after you. That’s too many unknowns for us to work with. I believe Voiceless will agree with me as well and so will Frank.” 

   
 

“But-” 

   
 

“What will happen if you pass out on the field ? We can’t protect you and David at the same time. What if someone recognises you and you can’t ? You can’t warn us about danger and may tip off someone of our presence. And if people are looking after you ? We may have to relocate to escape too much attention and it will take a toll on our team to get new clients, headquarters, contacts, and the like. We can’t afford any of this. When you have recovered and we are sure no one is on our trail then sure. But until then it’s safer for all of us to have you here.” 

   
 

Adam felt his shoulders slump. The pooka was right, if he jumped into the fire like this he could put everyone at risk. But the idea of the crew who had been his only human contact coming to harm… The idea of having _Frank-…_ he shook his head. He must not think like this. They were competent. And it was possible that Sarif was merely being paranoid. He had the feeling it was not uncommon. 

   
 

He sighed deeply while Dusty resumed their babble about all and nothing while checking him up. Everything will be fine. Voiceless will find someone. 

   
 

* * *

 

   
 

Voiceless found no one. 

   
 

The team found themselves reunited in the living room with unusual silence. Both deckers with a laptop on their laps but not typing a thing, instead rubbing their faces tiredly. Domitius was hunched over, eyes blankly staring in front of him but not reading the map of the building Pritchard had printed earlier. Dusty was trying to shake their companions awake, and Malik did not even join them, she would not be able to join their group in her current status she would not be able to join them on the run, no VTOL for the crew. 

   
 

Adam had insisted to be here to help the best he could despite not being able to go on the field. Sarif’s voice was coming out of the speaker of Pritchard’s phone. 

   
 

 _-tely a lot of pro-aug investors fell sick and came back behaving strangely and some others died all of the sudden and I’m certain I’m next._ said the voice with a slight glitch coming with the encrypted channel. 

   
 

“And what makes you say they are going to strike tonight ? For all we know it could be tomorrow or in a month. Maybe you’re not even on the list.” pointed Voiceless pressing her thumb into her natural eye socket. 

   
 

 _I wouldn’t hire you if I didn’t suspect something. One of my contacts told me about his sister suddenly turning her heels on the aug cause and saying strange things, speaking like she was someone else. He told me he overheard her on the phone talking about tonight. She’s planning something, I think she’s with them._  

   
 

“Who’s ‘them’ ? A name would help us.” intervened Adam from his seat. 

   
 

 _You know, son. The Illuminati !_  

   
 

 **A name won’t tell much.** **Sometimes it’s the Masons, sometimes the Bilderburg group.**  

   
 

The aug shook his head, apparently he already had this discussion with Sarif. But Pritchard scoffed. “And you called _me_ paranoid yet you’re spitting up full on conspiracy theories.” 

   
 

 _It’s very serious, Frank. They’re behind Panchea and all that happened to us since the first attack. You can ask Adam !_  

   
 

“Jensen has _memory loss_. That Illuminati theory is ridiculous !” 

   
 

“I think I’m remembering shards about this. David is not lying.” defended the aug with a sigh that got answered with a sneer from the decker. 

   
 

“I do believe there is an association of the powerful trying to pull the strings in the shadows, Snake. It’s not that extravagant. But whether they are the ‘Illuminati’ or not I don’t know. If the name is what bothers you just call them something else.” retorted Voiceless not even opening her eyes. 

   
 

Pritchard threw his hands in the air with an exasperated look. “Fine ! Conspiracies are real, there’s a base on the moon, big pharma manufactures diseases to get richer, governments do secret experiments to brainwash people and create super soldiers, and the mass media is being used by the powerful to control our minds !” 

   
 

 _Well, Eliza Cassan is an AI…_  

   
 

Pritchard rolled his eyes when Dusty giggled. “Fine, but that does not help us for the run. Do you even know what fronts they control ?” 

   
 

 _We know they control Picus, Tai Young, Versalife, Darrow Industries, the World Health Organisation… probably more but I can’t confirm it for sure._  

   
 

“Amazing.” grunted the decker. 

   
 

“Any representatives of those companies tonight ?” asked Voiceless finally forcing her eyes open. 

   
 

 _Not that I know of. I don’t think this is the kind of meeting that would interest them._  

   
 

“What’s on the menu then ?” 

   
 

 _Shiawase is meeting with potential investors to present their last project the-_  

   
 

“Wait, are they going to present their new cyberdeck based on Fuchi’s technology ?” jumped Pritchard who seemed to have suddenly sobered up. 

   
 

 _Yes ! I take it you’ve heard of it, Frank ?_  

   
 

“Yes ! The ShadowLand BBS is buzzing about it, they have a whole new processor which should help-” 

   
 

“Good, you know the topic. You’re going to escort Sarif during the party as his expert on the topic.” cut Voiceless typing up on her laptop. 

   
 

“That’s a bad idea !” intervened Adam almost rising from his seat. “Close quarter is the most dangerous post, if someone goes it should be Domitius or-” 

   
 

“No, Domitius will infiltrate the security staff and be our eyes on what’s happening in the building and the guests’ moves. Dusty will turn into a crow and hide in some dark corner or under the table to jump in if things go south in the main room. I’ll watch everything through my scope on the roof of nearby building. We’ll need a bulletproof car, can you rent one ?” 

   
 

 _Yes...yes. I’ll do that. Anything else ?_  

   
 

“Yes, any of the guests we should look out for ?” 

   
 

 _Well, I don’t know the entire list. I'd tell you to keep an eye on anyone that’s fiercely anti-aug but the number is up the roof since the Incident. Tonight I think most of the focus will be on the Shiawase representatives._  

   
 

“I know, we don’t care where most of the focus is we only want to know who’s focus is on you.” 

   
 

 _I have no idea. Frank, can’t you do a background check on the guests ?_  

   
 

“You mean, hack _Shiawase’s servers_ , one of the biggest tech corporations, to retrieve the guest list, then go through the files of all of them, one by one, all in a few hours, and hacking what needs to be hacked to know what has been hidden like, oh I don’t know, _a hitman contract maybe ?_ Sorry David but just getting the list would be an entire run in itself. That’s why we need time to prepare runs.” 

   
 

 _I understand… so we won’t know who’s a security threat or not ?_  

   
 

“No, we won’t. That’s why I always asked for the guest lists a week before the event whenever you were holding parties.” 

   
 

“Since you’ll be on the spot you’ll have to keep an eye out, Snake.” 

   
 

“You don’t need to tell me !” hissed the decker. 

   
 

 _Will one of you be the driver or should I rent one ?_  

   
 

“I’ll drive,” said Voiceless. “I’ll need the pass to come in and out of the building to my sniper spot.” 

   
 

 _Very well. Is there anything I need to prepare to ?_  

   
 

“You need to stay with Snake at all times, we’ll give you a microphone to hear what’s happening around you, who you’re talking to, and if you need to give us information. Every time someone comes to greet you you need to tell their name one way or another so we always know who is around you.” 

   
 

 _Understood. Jesus, what a mess._  

   
 

Adam heard Pritchard mumble an angry ‘you don’t say’ but didn’t comment on it. “Are you sure I can’t take Francis’ place instead ? I know Sarif and-” 

   
 

“We talked about this, child. There’s too many unknowns for you to go on the field yet. And the very fact people could recognise you is one of the things we talked about earlier. Someone could still be after you. And if people weren’t after Sarif tonight, they would be after you show up.” retorted Dusty calmly. 

   
 

Frank would have added a comment about not being a damsel in distress if Voiceless had not pinched his ribs the second he opened his mouth. He tried to glare at her but was greeted with a knowing _don’t_ stare of her own. He grumbled under his breath but didn’t speak up. She knew him all too well. 

   
 

Adam didn’t speak anymore, staring emptily at the map like Domitius, the feeling of helplessness taking over him. In the end Frank was glad Voiceless shut him up, Adam was clearly feeling awful. Frank had not really considered that Adam might not share his desire to stay out of harm. He still did not understand why the aug would always throw himself in the way of danger, or anyone else for that matter. 

   
 

They kept talking about the organisation but both Adam and Frank were noticeably more quiet and when came the time for them to prepare and leave the decker threw a last glance at Adam siting in the living room. _Everything will be fine_ , he told himself. 

   
 

 _Everything will be fine._


End file.
